VPN restricted to “Managed-Only” devices starts July 31

06/06/2024
illustration of computer screen saying VPN

As of July 31, 2024, Michigan Medicine's Virtual Private Network (VPN) will be limited exclusively to devices managed by Michigan Medicine.  

 
 
 
 

This change in VPN accessibility is in line with industry best practices and crucial for reducing the risk of an unintended security breach. Unmanaged – or personally-managed – devices lack the institutional security controls that keep our workforce, patients, and IT systems cybersafe. 

Transitioning with ease

There are options in place for those who do not currently use a managed PC, Mac – or other non-managed devices:

  1. Use Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) to access resources that would typically require the VPN. WVD is a trusted solution for remote access from any computer or browser. This should work for many use cases.
  2. Use VPlaces for access to MiChart when you are not at a Michigan Medicine facility or when you are not using a managed device.
  3. Obtain a Michigan Medicine-managed (aka, CoreImage) PC or CoreMac through the Michigan Medicine Help Center. 

Action steps and support 

General Michigan Medicine staff have no action steps to prepare for the upcoming restrictions as the change is scheduled to take effect "behind the scenes” on July 31.

If you have been accessing resources with non-managed devices, those methods will no longer work and you will need to use one of the alternate methods listed above.  

Trusted service providers and IT staff managing vendor access to Michigan Medicine resources will continue to use the Michigan Medicine Information Assurance Request process when establishing vendor site-to-site VPN connections.

Vendors utilizing the AnyConnect application to connect to Michigan Medicine’s VPN will require a Risk Decision Request; this applies to both current and future vendor connections. Please use the following two months to plan accordingly.   

Visit the VPN Project Resources pagefor up-to-date information and FAQs.

Other important resources

  • Email Ask-Cybersecurity@med.umich.edu for any IT security-specific questions, including VPN inquiries. 
  • Visit the Michigan Medicine Help Center (help.med.umich.edu/it) to chat with an agent, submit a ticket, make requests and find answers to common IT questions. 
  • Visit the HITS Get Help page for additional support methods.  For urgent issues, call the Service Desk at 734-936-8000.