The Information Systems department began the installation process of CrowdStrike Falcon in mid-September, a step taken by the University of Chicago to increase cybersecurity. 

CrowdStrike Falcon is more effective and works more quickly than traditional antivirus programs, such as the previous software used by the university, Symantec. 

The automatic transfer of software affects the whole university, including Lab faculty MacBooks and iMacs.

Currently, the Information Systems department is working to deploy CrowdStrike on faculty computers.

Jamf administrator Anthony Gonzalez said, “The bulk of our work has been making sure the program is available and that it is getting put on faculty computers that are currently being used.”

Although the installation of CrowdStrike Falcon for Lab student computers is currently unavailable, Mr. Gonzalez predicts that the option will arise in the future. 

“The university does make CrowdStrike available for personal use for university purposes,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “I imagine that that would apply to high school students’ personal computers when the right time comes.”

He projects that the installation process of CrowdStrike Falcon will conclude in the spring. 

Mr. Gonzalez said, “Security threats are ever-evolving so it is important that precautions are taken in response.”