UCLA switches secure wireless network to eduroam
UCLA's secure wireless network
The eduroam network has officially replaced UCLA_SECURE as UCLA's wireless network. The steps are simple:
- Click the "eduroam" network on the drop-down menu with the wireless networks.
- Enter UCLA log-on information.
Officials advise against using un-encrypted wireless networks on campus to prevent third-party access to personal information.
SOURCE: UCLA Information Technology
Compiled by Devin Kelly, Bruin senior staff.
Using their UCLA login information, UCLA students can now access a secure wireless network at sister University of California campuses ““ or, halfway across the world.
The network is eduroam, an international secure wireless network built for the academic and research community. The network began in Europe and is up and running in Asia and Canada, in addition to UC San Diego, UC Irvine and UC Davis, according to the eduroam website.
UCLA made eduroam its sole secure wireless network at the start of the year, replacing the old UCLA_SECURE network altogether.
Eduroam uses the same encryption techniques as UCLA_SECURE, said Ross Bollens, director of security at UCLA Information Technology. This prevents third parties from logging in and accessing a user’s personal information on sites like Facebook.
Last fall, the release of Firesheep, an easy-to-use Firefox extension, made it easier for anybody to hack into on-campus wireless networks.
The incident alerted the campus community to use encrypted networks or virtual private network clients, Bollens said. At the time, eduroam was in testing, Bollens said.
The information security department began to notify users of the full switch to eduroam at the beginning of September. For the UCs, the transition follows the protocol set by the UCTrust system, which allows UC campuses to use an electronic credential to gain access to shared applications.
Students, however, are still learning about the shift.
At a table at Ackerman Student Union, Jesus Reyes entered his UCLA ID and password when prompted, logging into eduroam for the first time.
The third-year political science student said he was previously hesitant to use the network. He didn’t recognize the name, and it appeared to be a locked network on his computer.
“It doesn’t say “˜UCLA’ in front of (eduroam), which makes me think it isn’t an official UCLA network,” Reyes said.
About half of the campus was using UCLA_SECURE at the time of the switch, which was a point of concern, Bollens said.
“There’s so many people using UCLA_SECURE, we have to get the word out,” Bollens said.
Eduroam currently boasts fewer than half the users of UCLA_SECURE during spring quarter, though network usage is typically lower during the beginning of a quarter, said Mark Bower, director of managed network services for UCLA.
With contributing reports by Alexia Boyarsky, Bruin contributor.
