Dear York College Community,
We are writing to inform you of important cybersecurity and privacy concerns regarding the use of the cloud-based service Read.ai.
Read.ai is a tool that can join online meetings, transcribe discussions, and summarize communications.
Recent guidance from our Central Office has identified significant risks associated with its use across CUNY.
Key Concerns:
- Privacy Risks: Read.ai may access and transcribe meetings without all participants’ awareness, potentially exposing sensitive or confidential information.
- Security Risks: Meeting summaries and recordings may be shared or stored outside of CUNY-controlled systems, increasing the risk of unauthorized data exposure.
- Unintended Access: When connected to a user’s calendar, Read.ai may automatically join meetings—even if the user is not present.
- Lack of Review: Read.ai has not undergone a formal cybersecurity review to ensure compliance with CUNY security standards.
Effective immediately, the use of Read.ai is strongly discouraged and may be restricted as formal policy guidance is implemented.
Approved Alternatives:
CUNY provides secure, enterprise-supported tools with similar capabilities, including:
CUNY provides secure, enterprise-supported tools with similar capabilities, including:
- Microsoft Teams transcription and Copilot features
- Zoom AI Companion
What You Should Do:
- Do not connect Read.ai to your university email or calendar
- Remove or disable Read.ai if it is currently in use
- Use only approved CUNY-supported tools for meeting transcription and summaries
Additional guidance and training resources will be shared, including the CIS Cybersecurity Cloud Service Advisory.
Protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and security of our campus community remains our highest priority. Thank you for your cooperation and continued commitment to safeguarding university data.
For information on activating transcription in Microsoft Teams or Zoom go to MyMeetingAI
If you have any questions, please contact correspond with our ServiceDesk at helpdesk@PROTECTED
Greg Vega
Interim AVP/CIO
York College Information Technology