Security Best Practices

Protecting your ARC account is everyone’s responsibility.

Password Security

Change Password Regularly

  • Update your password every 3-6 months

  • Use strong, unique passwords

  • Don’t reuse passwords from other sites

Creating Strong Passwords

  • At least 12 characters

  • Mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols

  • Avoid dictionary words, personal info

  • Consider using a password manager

Never Share Your Password

  • ARC staff will NEVER ask for your password

  • Don’t share with colleagues, students, or friends

  • Don’t write it down visibly

  • Don’t store in plain text files

Account Security

Enable 2FA (Required)

Two-Factor Authentication is mandatory. See 2FA Setup.

Watch for Phishing

  • Verify sender before clicking links

  • Don’t enter credentials on suspicious sites

  • Check URLs carefully

  • Report suspicious emails to Helpdesk

Secure Your Devices

  • Lock laptops when away from desk

  • Use screen locks on mobile devices

  • Don’t leave credentials visible

  • Report lost/stolen devices immediately

Session Security

Lock Your Screen

Always lock your terminal when stepping away:

# Linux/Mac: Lock screen
lock

# Or use physical keyboard shortcut
# Windows: Win+L

See Screen Locking Guide for details.

Logout When Done

# Always logout when finished
exit

# Or press Ctrl+D

Don’t Leave Sessions Idle

  • Active sessions consume resources

  • Idle sessions are security risks

  • Use screen/tmux with password protection for long sessions

File Permissions

Secure Your Files

# Check file permissions
ls -la

# Make private files readable only by you
chmod 700 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
chmod 600 ~/.bash_history

# Restrict home directory
chmod 700 ~

Don’t Share via World-Readable

# BAD - anyone can read
chmod 644 secret_data.txt

# GOOD - only you can read
chmod 600 secret_data.txt

SSH Keys

Protect SSH Keys

# Set proper permissions on private keys
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

# Never share private keys
# Never commit to version control

Use SSH Agent

# Start agent and add key
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa

# Lock agent when away
ssh-add -x

Reporting Issues

Suspected Compromise

  1. Change password immediately

  2. Contact Helpdesk: help@hpc.msstate.edu

  3. Review recent activity

  4. Check for unauthorized files/changes

Suspicious Activity

  • Unknown jobs in queue

  • Files you didn’t create

  • Unusual disk usage

  • Login attempts from unknown locations

Report all suspicious activity to Helpdesk.

Policy Violations

The following are policy violations and may result in account termination:

  • Sharing credentials with others

  • Attempting to bypass security measures

  • Circumventing quota or storage policies

  • Unauthorized access to other users’ data

  • Using cluster resources for unauthorized purposes

Resources