Please see e-mail below.
Silvana
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Silvana Martini, PhD Professor, Department Head University of Nebraska–Lincoln Food Science & Technology Lincoln, NE Editor-in-Chief, Journal of the American Oil Chemists'
Society Fellow of the American Oil Chemists' Society Past President of the American Oil Chemists' Society (2022-2023) |
From: IANR Vice Chancellor <ianrvc@unl.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2025 2:58 PM
To: Bhaskar Bhattacharya <bbhattacharya8@unl.edu>; Cara Pesek <cpesek2@unl.edu>; Carla Werner <cwerner1@unl.edu>; Charles Stoltenow <charles.stoltenow@unl.edu>; David Varner <dave.varner@unl.edu>; Deborah VanOverbeke <dvanoverbeke2@unl.edu>; Derek McLean
<derek.mclean@unl.edu>; Donald Becker <dbecker3@unl.edu>; Douglas Zalesky <dzalesky2@unl.edu>; Heather Rasmussen <heather.rasmussen@unl.edu>; Hector Santiago <hsantiago@unl.edu>; Jeff Bassford <jbassford2@unl.edu>; Jennifer Johnson Jorgensen <jbjorgensen@unl.edu>;
John Ruberson <jruberson2@unl.edu>; John Westra <john.westra@unl.edu>; Julie Peterson <julie.peterson@unl.edu>; Kate Brooks <kbrooks4@unl.edu>; Kathleen Lodl <klodl1@unl.edu>; Kelly Bruns <kelly.bruns@unl.edu>; Larkin Powell <lpowell3@unl.edu>; Lauren Kruger
<lkruger4@unl.edu>; Lisa Karr <lisa.karr@unl.edu>; Loren Giesler <loren.giesler@unl.edu>; Maren Schuttler <mschuttler2@unl.edu>; Mark Balschweid <mbalschweid2@unl.edu>; Mark Stone <mark.stone@unl.edu>; Martha Mamo <mmamo3@unl.edu>; Michael Merten <michael.merten@unl.edu>;
Nav Ghimire <nghimire3@unl.edu>; Richard Bischoff <rbischoff2@unl.edu>; Scott McVey <dmcvey2@unl.edu>; Silvana Martini <smartini2@unl.edu>; Tala Awada <tawada2@unl.edu>; Thomas Burkey <tom.burkey@unl.edu>; Tiffany Heng-Moss <thengmoss2@unl.edu>
Subject: Important Update: Website Security, Compliance, and Hosting Standards
Sent on behalf of
Bryan Kinnan and Jason Cooper
Please communicate this out to your faculty, staff, and grad students at your earliest convenience.
Websites have become the digital front door to IANR—serving as a vital connection point for our students, colleagues, partners, and the public. Whether we’re sharing research, promoting programs,
or collecting information, our web presence plays a critical role in how we communicate and engage.
Unfortunately, as our reliance on websites has grown, so too have the cybersecurity threats targeting them. Today, no website is too small or obscure to be a target. Bad actors are constantly
scanning for vulnerabilities to gain access to University systems, steal or damage data, or deface content—potentially harming the reputation of both the University and the individuals behind the sites.
What We’re Asking of You:
We need your help to ensure our websites are secure, compliant, and sustainable. Please take time to review any websites you own or manage, especially if they:
- Are hosted outside of the UNL CMS (e.g., Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, WordPress)
- Are not hosted on University ITS-supported infrastructure
- Are not regularly updated or maintained (sites that have not been updated content or code wise in the past 6-12 months).
Sites meeting this criteria are particularly vulnerable and should be considered for migration to University-supported platforms.
Why This Matters:
All University websites—regardless of where they are hosted—must comply with:
- University security standards
- Executive Memoranda 16 and 42
- Federal accessibility requirements under Title II of the ADA (compliance deadline: April 28, 2026)
These standards are essential to protect University data, ensure accessibility for all users, and uphold the integrity of our digital presence.
Effective Immediately:
While we understand that there will be cases in which we are needing to stand up custom solutions in which we have partnered with ITS on, going forward:
- All new websites must be created in consultation with IANR Media or through an approved and fully supported path provided by ITS.
- All existing websites hosted outside of approved environments must be re-evaluated
- Sites that are able to, should be migrated to a supported platform
- Sites that previously were not a good fit for UNL CMS or that may take a little more work; we are asking that you reach out to IANR
Media or to ITS to start those discussions and plans now
Maintaining websites outside of these environments introduces significant security, legal, and operational risks to the University and everyone involved and associated with them
If you have any questions on this, please contact Jason Cooper, Communications Media Coordinator or Bryan Kinnan, IT Coordinator.
Thanks,
Bryan and Jason