OIT will be migratingall active ES Mail (aka Webmail) accounts to either Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 in an effort to increase email security. Migration will happen on a rolling schedule, and each user group will be notified with ample time prior to their ES Mail accounts being migrated and subsequently deactivated.
Why is OIT Decommissioning ES Mail (aka Webmail)?
As part of the larger security initiative championed by UC Regents, the Email Security Initiative was created to proactively address an increasing frequency of malicious online attacks worldwide.
Attacks on email systems, such as phishing, account compromises, malware injections, and data breaches cost the higher education sector almost $3M on average per incident. Data belongs to the institution, and our objective is to minimize UCI’s vulnerabilities to potential attacks by moving to modern, secure services.
Decommissioning ES Mail and migrating existing users and their data to enterprise-grade, secure email systems is a key step in our plan to raise the bar on the security and integrity of UCI’s data.
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is modernizing file storage for UCI, in a plan that includes migrating and storing files securely in Microsoft OneDrive. PC users will be migrating first, with Mac users migrating later this year.
Why Is This Happening?
Increase Security
Microsoft OneDrive provides tools for logging and auditing access to important information that are beyond the capability of our current tools.
Automatic Backup + Protection
After the migration, you’ll no longer have to worry about backing up your local files, as this will begin happening automatically. Storing files in the cloud ensures you won’t lose local files due to your computer crashing (or being run over on an especially unlucky day).
Easy Access
Instead of accessing your important files through the VPN, you can easily access them through any device.
Secure Collaboration
OneDrive makes it easy to share your files and collaborate with your colleagues in real-time
To prepare for your scheduled migration, it’s important to sync your files (back them up). We will ask you to sync at least three times before your migration, in order to ensure all of your files are moved properly. By the end of this week, you’ll begin seeing a pop-up message on your computer notifying you if you’ve gone longer than seven (7) days without backing up (syncing).
Migration Communications
You will hear from us once a date for your initial migration has been scheduled. We will walk you through the process and provide additional information regarding the migration.
Seamless Transition
OIT will transition your files to OneDrive automatically. After migration, you will continue to work on your files and save them as you always have with no change in your workflow.
Are you your department’s resident techie? Do you want to stay up to date with the OneDrive migration? Sign up to be a Cloud Champion and share your input on your department’s OneDrive Migration! We’d love to bring you to the table.
Beginning on March 2, 2021, Duo multi-factor authentication will be required for all UCI Office 365 accounts. Using Duo will strengthen security when accessing your UCI Outlook, Calendar, OneDrive, Teams, and other O365 services.
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has been working to roll out Duo multi-factor authentication across all campus platforms with the ultimate goal of having all employees and students using Duo to protect our most used platforms by the end of 2021. Duo provides an added layer of security by requiring a second source of validation, in the form of a push notification on your phone, tablet or smartwatch, in addition to your username and password. Multi-factor authentication with Duo is already required for employees to access most other key UCI platforms.
We are encouraging all UCI Office 365 users (staff, faculty, and student employees) to opt-in to Duo for O365 now so that we can address issues before it may impact your work.
Here’s what to do now:
Enable Duo for O365 before March 2, 2021 Login, select “Enable” and submit. You may need to login again to any existing O365 sessions you have open.
If you run into any issues, you can go back to the link above, select “Disable,” and report it to the OIT Help Desk before March 2 at oit@uci.edu or 949-824-2222.* *iOS users may need to remove and re-add their accounts. See note below for details
What should you expect?
Desktops and laptops
Before March 2, ensure you are using compatible software to access O365 by reviewing the Duo + Office 365 article. If you are using different software, it likely doesn’t support modern authentication and you will need to move to something supported.
On March 2, O365 services will ask you to re-authenticate (login with your username and password). When you login, you will be prompted to authenticate with Duo.
Smartphones and other mobile devices
We recommend that users download the Outlook mobile app for the best mobile email experience.
Apple/iOS devices
Some people may encounter an issue with using Duo on the native Apple mail app. If so, you may need to remove and re-add your Office 365 accounts. See Microsoft 365: How to setup Apple Mail and Apple Calendar. Alternatively, we recommend using the Outlook mobile app.
If you have any issues or feedback, contact the OIT Help Desk at oit@uci.edu or 949-824-2222.
