Mason Staff Senate

Author: Lauren Reese

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October 2026

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Information Technology Services (ITS) is observing Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October to promote online safety and security. ITS encourages computer users to recognize that each person is responsible for protecting their personal data and George Mason’s IT systems and assets. To help users stay safe and to promote online safety, ITS has the following activities planned for this month:

  • Follow along on @georgemasonits for a fresh tip about online safety and security every day throughout the month.
  • Ask Me Anything Reddit Thread: Join ITS Cybersecurity Operations on Thursday, October 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a Reddit Thread and have all your cybersecurity questions answered.
  • This is How We Do IT — Cybersecurity at George Mason University
    Tuesday, October 20, at 2 p.m. in Johnson Center, Room C
    Cybersecurity Operations team members will participate in a panel discussion about IT Security at George Mason, what they do to keep George Mason safe, and what interested them in IT Security. The panel discussion will be hybrid, with an option to attend via MS Teams.
Categories
September 2026 October 2026

New School Year, Same Old Phishing

The new school year brings an increase in phishing attempts by cybercriminals who know people are busy.  As students, faculty, and staff are settling into the 2026 – 27 academic year, it’s an important time to remain on guard and to report any phishing attempts you may receive. Reporting phishing emails allows ITS to properly assess and notify others who may be targets. Phishing emails can be reported to ITS directly from your Outlook inbox or by calling ITS Support at 703-993-8870.

 

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September 2026 October 2026

Alumni Email is Changing

Email service for George Mason alumni is transitioning to an email forwarding service. After multiple email solutions were offered over the years, a forwarding service was chosen to provide a sustainable and affordable solution for alumni to stay connected to the university. The new forwarding service offers an @gmualumni.org email address that forwards messages to a non-George Mason email address. This change does not affect current students or employees. Learn more about the alumni email changes.

Categories
September 2025

Mason 9/11 Day of Service

The 13th Annual Mason Nation 9/11 Day of Service will take place on Thursday, September 11, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Johnson Center, Dewberry Hall. A variety of service projects are available for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members to choose from and participate in. Visit the website to learn more and register.

Categories
September 2025

Updates from Information Technology Services

  • Patriot Web Upgrade Coming This Fall
    Patriot Web, George Mason’s self-service site for managing personal, administrative, and academic information, is being upgraded this fall to a new, modern interface with improved navigation. A soft launch of the new environment was made available on September 1 via the Patriot Web login page. Any actions taken in the new environment will be reflected in the current version of Patriot Web, which will be disabled on Tuesday, September 30.
  • Get (and Stay!) Connected to Campus Wi-Fi
    Whether you are a new Patriot logging on for the first time or returning to campus, eduroam is George Mason’s primary Wi-Fi network for academic and administrative use. If you’re on a device connected to Mason-Secure, we urge you to connect to eduroam instead for the best Wi-Fi experience. Learn How to Connect to eduroam with step-by-step instructions tailored to your device. Reminder: Use your full George Mason email address (@gmu.edu) when connecting to eduroam.
  • NEW! PatriotAI
    We invite everyone to explore and leverage the recently launched AI platform, PatriotAI. PatriotAI houses a suite of six specialized AI tools, called agents, offering secure, university-managed access to large language models that aid academic work, studies, and student life. These six agents—CourseMate, DocuMate, NourishNet, Patriot Chat, PatriotPal, and SyllaBright—are available to explore at https://patriotai.gmu.edu. For more information about the responsible use of AI at George Mason, please visit https://its.gmu.edu/help-support/ai-toolkit/.