Data in Transit Policy

Version 1.5

For Students, Faculty, Staff, Guests, Alumni

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to define authorized methods of digitally transmitting University data.

Scope

This IT policy, and all policies referenced herein, shall apply to all members of the University community, including faculty, students, administrators, staff, alumni, authorized guests, delegates, and independent contractors (the “User(s)” or “you”) who use, access, or otherwise employ, locally or remotely, the University’s IT Resources, whether individually controlled, shared, stand-alone, or networked.

Policy Statement

The authorized methods for transmitting Fordham Protected, Fordham Sensitive, or Public Data are defined in this policy.
The type of data dictates the method of transmission as per the Data Classification Guidelines.

Rules for transmitting Fordham Protected, Fordham Sensitive, or Public Data¹

	Fordham Protected Data	Fordham Sensitive Data	Public Data
Email	Not permitted without express authorization or unless required by law. If authorized, data shall only be included in messages within an encrypted file attachment or via secure authorized services, such as Gmail within Fordham.edu. Transport Layer Security (TLS)² and encrypted email.	Messages shall only be sent to authorized individuals with a legitimate need to know. Messages can be sent via a secure authorized service, such as Gmail within Fordham.edu. Transport Layer Security (TLS) and encrypted email or encrypted file.	No protection requirements
Electronic Transmission or Forwarding (e.g., LAN, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi)	Secure, authenticated connections or secure protocols must be used for transmission of protected data via: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) TLS Secure Socket Shell (SSH) Secure Copy Protocol (SCP)	Data must be transmitted in either an encrypted file format or over a secure protocol or connection via: SFTP TLS SSH SCP	No protection requirements.

Fordham Protected Data

Fordham Sensitive Data

Public Data

Email

Not permitted without express authorization or unless required by law.

If authorized, data shall only be included in messages within an encrypted file attachment or via secure authorized services, such as Gmail within Fordham.edu.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)² and encrypted email.

Messages shall only be sent to authorized individuals with a legitimate need to know.

Messages can be sent via a secure authorized service, such as Gmail within Fordham.edu.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) and encrypted email or encrypted file.

No protection requirements

Electronic Transmission or Forwarding (e.g., LAN, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi)

Secure, authenticated connections or secure protocols must be used for transmission of protected data via:

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
TLS
Secure Socket Shell (SSH)
Secure Copy Protocol (SCP)

Data must be transmitted in either an encrypted file format or over a secure protocol or connection via:

SFTP
TLS
SSH
SCP

No protection requirements.

¹ The information included in this table is not comprehensive. Refer to other IT policies for details related to the topics mentioned.

² SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-52r2, RTC-8996, Deprecating TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1

Definitions

Authorization is a process by which a server determines if the individual has permission to use a resource or access a file. Authorization is usually coupled with authentication so the server can identify the individual requesting access.

Encryption involves the process of transforming data so that it is unreadable by anyone who does not have a decryption key. Encryption in transit means ensuring that all data sent over a network is encrypted.

IT Resources include computing, networking, communications, application, and telecommunications systems, infrastructure, hardware, software, data, databases, personnel, procedures, physical facilities, cloud-based vendors, Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors, and related materials and services.

Related Policies and Procedures

Implementation Information

Review Frequency	Biennial
Responsible Person	Senior Director of IT Security and Assurance
Approved By	CISO
Approval Date	May 22, 2018

Revision History

Version	Date	Description
1.0	04/06/2018	Initial policy
1.0.1	05/22/2018	Updated disclaimer statement
1.1	06/09/2020	Updated table
1.2	07/02/2022	Updated table
1.3	12/22/2022	Added TLS sources reference footnote
1.4	03/05/2024	Updated table, updated disclaimer
1.5	07/18/2024	Updated table, scope, purpose, definitions
1.6	12/16/2024	Updated Email information on the table

Policy Disclaimer Statement

Deviations from policies, procedures, or guidelines published and approved by Information Security and Assurance (ISA) will only be considered cooperatively between ISA and the requesting entity with sufficient notice to allow for conducting appropriate risk analysis, documentation, review, and notification to authorized University representatives where necessary. Failure to adhere to ISA written policies may be met with University sanctions up to and including dismissal.