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Do you check NIU email on your personal cell phone?

April 20, 2015

Photo of a smart phoneAs we increasingly use personal cell phones for work, here are two important things to remember.

Illinois Freedom of Information Act

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides public access to government documents and records. As a state university, NIU is subject to the Illinois FOIA.

Texts, e-mails, files, etc. used in the “transaction of public business” are subject to FOIA requests, regardless of who owns the device used. If you send texts or emails or make phone calls for work, or use NIU applications like PeopleSoft on your private cell phone, those records and data are subject to FOIA requests. Personal data on that cell phone is not.

Keep the information on your cell phone secure

You are personally responsible for securing the NIU data on your cell phone that is classified as sensitive or restricted in the NIU Information Security Policy. Prevent unauthorized access to university information by setting up password protection on your cell phone. Set your phone to lock after a certain period of inactivity and require a password to get back in.

For more information, call (815) 753-8100 or email helpdesk@niu.edu.