Re: Granting all users (or "a select few"??) administrative rights on their own computer systems??

[Chris Green <cmgreen () UAB EDU>]

Sounds like you are in a highly managed environment and the issue is response time to install software.   In places 
that have that culture, I've heard "we were happy technology X allowed us to improve to a two week install time" and 
places with admin rights on desktop "How do you survive politically!#@?"

Many of the application whitelist vendors try to have a happy medium that let's a central helpdesk get notice of 
software installs.  If they permit it, they can choose to permit it everywhere (such as some obscure line of business 
application) or just this one install.  End user gets responsiveness and theoretically you gain a two party control on 
all software installs.   One way we've handled it is managed desktops cost a certain rate per system.  If you have 
admin rights, we charge you more on the theory you'll have more edge cases to support.

I've only played enough in Whitelisting to suggest you really need something more than AppLocker in Windows 7 to pull 
it off in a home run fashion.


From: The EDUCAUSE Security Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU] On Behalf Of SCHALIP, 
MICHAEL
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 3:21 PM
To: SECURITY () LISTSERV EDUCAUSE EDU
Subject: [SECURITY] Granting all users (or "a select few"??) administrative rights on their own computer systems??

Hi folks.....

Sorry if this is a re-hash of a very old subject, but - most of our users do NOT have administrative rights on their 
computers.  A select few (outside of our centralized IT organization) have what are termed "Z accounts" that are 
separate user accounts that are issued to individuals that essentially provide them with admin rights on their local 
systems, but - we've been trying to keep these to a minimum.  However - now that we are getting more and more update 
notifications for Adobe, Java, etc - the end user population is demanding more and more access to their systems so that 
they can do their own updates.  Up until now - we have held that we (the IT organization) would assist with any updates 
or software installations - and do so either at the desktop, or remotely through our Service Desk.  We do a lot of 
remote support via RDP and/or PCAnywhere and/or Altiris Deployment Solution.

We're keenly aware of the potential risks that this presents, but - we're being told that we have to pursue this 
direction - in some manner.  From a support perspective, the prevailing belief system is that when we relinquish admin 
rights to the end users, the field tech workload will swing from "installing updates and software" to "repairing and 
re-imaging systems".......but, if that's the direction we're told to go, we'll do so without argument.....(personally - 
I'm not opposed to it at all.....it's more the "support policy" that concerns me.....;-)

But, the bottom line is - we have to allow users (either in general, or in a controlled group?), to install their own 
software - install their own patches (ie, Adobe, Java, etc.).

My question is:  How do other colleges manage this?  Do you give user's admin rights as a matter of course?.....or do 
you have a means of controlling this?  Do you continue to lock down the desktop such that most/all users do not have 
admin rights?.....or do you allow them to configure their own systems themselves, at their own risk?

Without sounding too callous, I *came* from an environment where users *did* have admin rights on their own systems - 
and for the most part, life was uneventful *except* for the instances where a user would get themselves so twisted up 
that when they did call for tech support - we basically told them that the 90% solution was to simply re-image their 
system for them.  Data backups were their responsibility - we'd re-image the OS and baseline software - install 
whatever additional software they could produce proof of licensing for - and re-pointed them to their network data 
stores......and that was about it.  Again - it worked fairly well in a "Fed sector" environment, but I'm not sure how 
well it would fly in a higher ed environment....??

Sorry this is so long-winded, but - curious to hear how everyone else handles this kind of situation.....

Thanks,

Michael

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