Security & Privacy
The Office of Information Security (OIS) at Villanova University is dedicated to protecting the University’s digital assets, ensuring compliance, and fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness. Our efforts are guided by the Securitas program, which establishes security requirements and provides a framework for safeguarding information.
Serving as the foundation of our security strategy, Securitas aligns with industry standards, university policies, and best practices. Through this program, we continuously assess, enhance, and adapt our security strength levels to address evolving cyber threats in higher education—while supporting academic and research excellence. We also empower our community with the knowledge and tools needed to stay secure in an increasingly digital world.
SECURITAS PROGRAM: WHAT'S NEXT?
Enhancing Your Logon Experience
The logon experience is improving to make accessing your computer faster, easier, and more secure. Our initiatives include automatic username recognition and biometric authentication (fingerprint or facial recognition), reducing the need to manually enter credentials. These enhancements streamline access while maintaining strong security, making it simpler for faculty, staff, and students to get to work.
Modern Secure Authentication
Our authentication practices are being enhanced to align with best practices, ensuring stronger security while improving user experience. This includes eliminating routine password expiration, enforcing stronger password policies, and shifting away from telephony and SMS-based authentication in favor of the Duo Mobile app for more secure multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Secure Password Management
Villanova is adopting Bitwarden as our new password vault, providing departments a secure, convenient way to manage passwords. Password vaults protect sensitive information and reduce the risk of weak or reused passwords. With Bitwarden, users can generate, store, and autofill strong passwords across devices, ensuring better security without the hassle of remembering multiple logins.