Assets Collection Data Security

Assets Data Collection Access Prerequisites
In general, individuals must have BEN Assets access before they can be granted access to the Assets collection in the Data Warehouse. Users must complete the Assets Data Access Form, and obtain supervisor and school access administrator (or senior business officer) signatures before sending the form to Data Administration.

Those individuals who do not already have access to the source system (BEN Assets), but who need ad hoc access to the Assets collection in the Data Warehouse, must complete BEN Assets training along with the Assets Data Access Form, BEN Assets training schedules and registration information are available at http://www.finance.upenn.edu/ftd/).

Completed forms, containing all necessary signatures, shold be directed to Data Administration (3401 Walnut, Suite 265C/6228).

Releasing Data Outside the University
The only two offices that may disclose assets data outside the University are the Property Management Group in the Office of the Comptroller, and Institutional Research & Analysis. If you do not work for those offices and you receive a request for data to be sent outside the University, refer the requester to the Property Management Group.

Keep a Log
You might want to keep a log of the reports you create, even if you are giving it to someone within the University. The log might include:

• Who requested the data.
  
• When they made the request.
  
• What data they requested.
  
• Why they requested the data/how they planned to use it.
  
• What query and/or report you used.

Releasing Data Within the University
Within the University, asset data may be disclosed only if it is needed to do the business of the University, and only to those who need to know the information in order to do their jobs. If you are not sure whether to fulfill a request for this information, call the Property Management Group.

Questions you should ask to help decide whether to fulfill a request for assets data:

• Who wants the information?
  
• Why do they want the information?
  
• For what purpose will the information be used?
  
• If they pass the information on to someone else, for what purpose will that person use it? Note: Usually, the data should be for the requestor's use only; no data should be posted in a public place including the World Wide Web.
  
• How will they secure the information once they have it?
  
• How will they dispose of the information when they are done with it? For example, hard copy reports should be shredded.

Desktop Security
Query Results. If you save your query results in Excel, pdf, or any other local file type, you must see to it that any sensitive data stored on your peronal computer is safeguarded through physical security, access control software, or encryption.

• Examples of physical security are locked offices and locked keyboards.
  
• Examples of access control software are a screen saver with password protection (which your computer has been set up to initiate at startup) or specialized desktop security software.
  
• If you encrypt your query results, you will need to decrypt them before accessing them with Business Objects.

Warehouse Access
When a computer is left signed to an account, it is easy for someone to gain unauthorized access. Either sign off from your account before you leave your computer or restrict access by some other means (physical security or access control software).

For more information on security and privacy, contact the Office of Information Security.