[Senate] Fwd: [Assembly of the Academic Senate] Resolution on Use of Trellix and Similar Monitoring Software

Mon Jun 23 10:54:42 PDT 2025

*Sent on behalf of Academic Senate Chair Ken Barish*
June 23, 2025

*Assembly Resolution on Use of Trellix and Similar Monitoring Software*

Good morning,
The attached and below have been transmitted from Academic Senate Chair
Steve Cheung to University of California President Michael Drake.
Kind regards,

Cherysa Cortez

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: If you are not the intended recipient, you are
hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that
any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of this
communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
communication in error, please notify the Academic Senate Office
immediately cherysa.cortez<at>ucr.edu
<https://post.ucr.edu/owa/redir.aspx?SURL=IcX4ZK3lIEYWOXDpDmM3Vb7zrs4KkFK1mfplzYdNhPoqD7zfiJzSCG0AYQBpAGwAdABvADoAYwBjAG8AcgB0AGUAegBAAGUAbgBnAHIALgB1AGMAcgAuAGUAZAB1AA..&URL=mailto%3accortez%40engr.ucr.edu>
and
permanently delete all copies of this communication and any attachments.
- - - - - - -

Michael V. Drake, M.D.

President, University of California

On behalf of Academic Senate Chair Cheung, I enclose his letter notifying
you of the Assembly’s resolution on the Use of Trellix and Similar
Monitoring Software. The text of his letter is pasted below and included in
the attached PDF with the resolution. It will be posted on the Senate’s Reports
& Recommendations
<https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/reports-recommendations/index.html>
webpage.

Thanks very much,

_______________

*Michael LaBriola*

Assistant Director

Systemwide Academic Senate

michael.labriola at ucop.edu | 510.987-0162

senate.universityofcalifornia.edu

June 18, 2025

Michael V. Drake, M.D.

President, University of California

Re: Assembly Resolution on Use of Trellix and Similar Monitoring Software

Dear President Drake,

At its June 12, 2025 meeting, the Assembly of the Academic Senate approved
the attached resolution concerning the implementation of Trellix and
similar monitoring software. The Assembly vote was 27 in favor and 6
opposed, with 14 abstentions.

The resolution conveys strong concerns about the deployment of Trellix
software on faculty computers and devices, citing its extensive
surveillance capabilities, ability to upload or alter files without user
consent, and the risk of government access to academic data—particularly in
light of Trellix’s participation in the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative
<https://www.cisa.gov/topics/partnerships-and-collaboration/joint-cyber-defense-collaborative>.
It also notes security vulnerabilities associated with Trellix’s
predecessor and outlines the broader risks to academic freedom, privacy,
and research integrity.

Accordingly, the Assembly requests the immediate suspension of Trellix and
any similarly invasive monitoring software on UC faculty and researcher
computer systems. It also calls for a transparent and inclusive evaluation
process with faculty representation for any future consideration of such
software.

We look forward to continued constructive dialogue and joint planning on
how best to balance cybersecurity in an increasingly hostile environment, with
the University’s commitment to academic freedom, privacy, and research.

Sincerely,

[image: A close-up of a signature Description automatically generated]

Steven W. Cheung

Chair, Academic Council

cc:                        Assembly of the Academic Senate

                            Provost and Executive Vice President Newman

                            Chief Operating Officer Nava

                            Chief Information Officer Williams

                            Senate Division Executive Directors

                            Senate Executive Director Lin
------------------------------

*Resolution **on Use of Trellix and Similar Monitoring Software*

*Approved by the Assembly of the Academic Senate*

*June 12, 2025*

WHEREAS, academic freedom, privacy, and autonomy are foundational
principles upon which the integrity and excellence of scholarship,
research, and teaching at the University of California depend;

WHEREAS, the deployment of Trellix monitoring software permits extensive
surveillance capabilities, including scanning all accessed and executed
files, logging detailed metadata (such as filenames, paths, alleged threat
names, and hashes), quarantining files, and potentially uploading files
deemed suspicious, thus severely compromising faculty privacy and autonomy;

WHEREAS, Trellix’s predecessor, FireEye, was hacked in 2020 in the
SolarWinds cyberattack, which was determined by intelligence agencies to be
carried out by Russian state-sponsored hackers and exposed over 250 federal
agencies, including the Departments of State, Treasury, Commerce, Energy,
and Homeland Security, as well as the National Institutes of Health;

WHEREAS, the data collected from faculty computers through Trellix software
could become accessible to government agencies without a warrant, due to
Trellix’s membership in the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative—a joint task
force comprising private companies and the federal Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency—that explicitly engages in “rapid bilateral
and multilateral threat information sharing;”

WHEREAS, the unchecked capacity of such software to monitor, upload, and
alter files without explicit consent poses a significant threat to
intellectual freedom, confidentiality of sensitive research data, and the
ethical standards expected within our scholarly community;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Assembly of the Academic Senate of the
University of California, demands the immediate suspension of the
implementation and use of Trellix or any similarly invasive monitoring
software on faculty and researcher computer systems;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that any future monitoring software considered for
deployment must undergo a transparent and inclusive evaluation process
involving faculty representation to ensure the safeguarding of privacy,
academic freedom, and research integrity.
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