Data in Transit Policy

Version 1.3

For Students, Faculty, Staff, Guests, Alumni

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to define how University data is electronically transmitted.

Scope

This IT policy, and all policies referenced herein, shall apply to all members of the University community, including faculty, students, administrative officials, 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 requirements for transmitting Fordham Protected, Fordham Sensitive, or Public Data via email or other electronic methods are listed in the table below.
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. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) Transport Layer Security (TLS)² Encrypt email Encrypt file	Messages shall only be sent to authorized individuals with a legitimate need to know. Messages can be sent via a secure protocol and/or process. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) Transport Layer Security (TLS) Encrypt email Encrypt 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) server Transport Layer Security (TLS)	Data must be transmitted in either an encrypted file format or over a secure protocol or connection via: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server Transport Layer Security (TLS)	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.

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
Transport Layer Security (TLS)²
Encrypt email
Encrypt file

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

Messages can be sent via a secure protocol and/or process.

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Encrypt email
Encrypt 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) server
Transport Layer Security (TLS)

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

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server
Transport Layer Security (TLS)

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

Authentication is used when the server needs to identify who is accessing the information or site. Authentication does not determine what tasks the individual can do or what files the individual can view.

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

Policy Disclaimer Statement

Deviations from policies, procedures, or guidelines published and approved by Information Security and Assurance (ISA) may only be done cooperatively between ISA and the requesting entity with sufficient time to allow for appropriate risk analysis, documentation, and possible presentation to authorized University representatives. Failure to adhere to ISA written policies may be met with University sanctions.