Many of us have had to install Secure Connect, also known as Trellix, or find circuitous routes to avoid it.
Science reports on the dangers of Trellix and other end point detection software, as well as faculty pushing back – including CUCFA and the American Association of University Professors.
Many faculty have argued that Trellix poses a threat to academic freedom by forcing software onto faculty computers, making it possible for UC administrators to access our communications, files, and data when threatened by external actors such as the federal government. While UC San Diego’s Secure Connect policy only requires Secure Connect to access “trusted resources,” faculty computers purchased through the campus come with Secure Connect already installed. Other faculty report pressure to install Secure Connect if they require IT assistance to use their machines. At other UC campuses, faculty have been forced to install Trellix to carry out even basic requirements of their work such as accessing journal articles and Learning Management Systems.
American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and CUCFA have sent a letter to UCOP arguing that End Point Detection Response software, including Trellix, threatens academic freedom. Even if such security software is standard in corporate IT contexts, universities are not industries. We require academic freedom, as enshrined in UC APM-010, “to discover knowledge and to disseminate it to its students and to society at large.”
AAUP has long recognized electronic communications as an academic freedom issue: “Efforts to protect privacy in electronic communications are an important instrument for ensuring professional autonomy and breathing space for freedom in the classroom and for the freedom to inquire.” (54)
Read AAUP and CUCFA’s letter to UCOP on why Trellix raises concerns of academic freedom and shared governance.
How are you impacted by Secure Connect? Do you have questions or concerns? You can leave a comment below. Members can join the discussion on SDFA Slack. Or reach out to sdfa.assist@gmail.com to reach the Executive Board with your thoughts.