TechNews

As we begin a new academic year, UC Davis is warning students, faculty and staff to be vigilant against phishing scams. Scams aimed at taking over accounts and redirecting payroll deposits are on the rise. These attempts may come in the form of emails from real, but compromised, UC Davis accounts and may look legitimate.

Do not respond! Responding to a phishing scam puts you, your data, your identity and your finances at risk.

UC Davis instructors have a new, virtual partner in making their courses more accessible this fall. Starting Wednesday, September 2, 2026, Ally is integrated in UC Davis Canvas, the campus learning management system. 

The UC Davis Mobile app got a major makeover—thanks to a partnership between a group of passionate students and campus technical professionals. In August 2026, a new UC Davis Mobile App for both iOS and Android devices launched, bringing a more accessible, modern, and maintainable mobile app experience to the university community. 

"The best part is it’s an app for students made by students, so we already knew the pain points,” said Vijit Dua, a student who helped design and build the new app. 

When UC Davis set out to strengthen protections against a rising tide of cyberattacks in higher education, the challenge wasn't just getting employees to complete their required cybersecurity training, it was building a system to guide them there automatically.

Following the recent nationwide security incident involving the Canvas Learning Management System, members of the UC Davis community have reported new phishing scams that try to take advantage of the situation.

Connecting to the UC Davis Guest wireless network will soon be easier than ever, thanks to an upgrade from Information and Educational Technology (IET). Beginning Monday, July 6, 2026, the login process will be streamlined, yet remain secure, by allowing guests to simply accept our terms of service to access the network.

Previously, campus visitors created a temporary account and received a password by email or text message to access the UC Davis Guest network. You can see the previous login screens below.

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UC Davis Canvas is once again available. Our technology teams completed additional security reviews after Canvas was brought back online.

Some features will not be available immediately, as they were disabled to protect the security of Canvas and your data during this incident, and will take additional time to restore.

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UC Davis has renewed its contract for ChatGPT Edu, bringing new terms, expanded capabilities and a significantly reduced price to the university community. The annual cost is lowered by 40% to $144 per year, down from the previous rate of $240 per year under the university’s new agreement with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.

Registration is now open for the 2026 UC Tech Annual Conference, held July 8-10 at UC Merced. The yearly event provides faculty and staff an opportunity to connect with technology-minded colleagues, share accomplishments, and learn about innovation and collaboration across the UC system.

In celebration of National Pet Day (April 11, 2026), the IET Communications team gathered pet photos from across IT at UC Davis to share with the university community. Enjoy!

Human: Christina Harland, Information and Educational Technology HR And Operations Director

Human: Kimberlee Motroni, Information and Educational Technology Operations

This spring, UC Davis students have a new digital resource at their disposal: the new UC Davis Digital Lab Pilot provides a flexible, cost-effective way to access course-required software from any location at any time. The pilot is open through the end of the academic year and complements other service offerings from Information and Educational Technology (IET). 

Update April 8, 2025: A grace period has been added to the following Duo update. Duo requires users to update their apps to versions 4.85.0 or newer by April 15, 2026.  The original deadline was March 31, 2025. 

After this date, unless you use the newer app version, you will be unable to verify your identity with Duo Push, and in some cases, biometrics such as Touch ID/Face ID. 

Article originally published on February 5, 2026. Dates have been updated to reflect the new grace period.

National Employee Appreciation Day is  Friday, March 6, 2026. Celebrated every first Friday in March, it's a day where employers thank employees for their hard work and recognize their achievements.