Understanding Microsoft Copilot with Enterprise Data Protection at Virginia Tech


Introduction

Contents

Microsoft Copilot is an online service that uses large language models (LLMs), such as GPT-4, to answer or fulfill requests from you. This article describes

  • How to access Copilot at Virginia Tech
  • What data protections are in place for people at Virginia Tech
  • How to use Copilot at Virginia Tech
  • What data may be used with Copilot at Virginia Tech
  • Additional information

Explanation

How to Access Copilot at Virginia Tech

Copilot is available to faculty, staff, and students at

http://copilot.microsoft.com

  1. Enter http://copilot.microsoft.com into your browser or click on the link provided.
  2. Click Sign in in the upper right.
  3. Log in with your VT username and passphrase.
  4. Complete your multi-factor authentication. You are now logged into Copilot.
  5. If you have Copilot for Microsoft 365 (M365), which is currently only available to a small group of people involved in the Copilot pilot program, click on Go to Copilot for work in the upper right to engage seamlessly with the M365 productivity suite.

http://bing.com

  1. Enter http://bing.com into your browser or click on the link provided.
  2. Click on Copilot in the upper left on the main toolbar.
  3. Click Sign in in the upper right.
  4. Log in with your VT username and passphrase.
  5. Complete your multi-factor authentication. You are now logged into Copilot.
  6. If you have Copilot for Microsoft 365, which is currently only available to a small group of people involved in the Copilot pilot program, click on Go to Copilot for work in the upper right to engage seamlessly with the M365 productivity suite.

Copilot in your Edge browser

  1. Open your Edge browser.
  2. Navigate to http://office.com.
  3. Click Sign in in the upper right.
  4. Log in with your VT username and passphrase.
  5. Complete your multi-factor authentication.
  6. Open the browser's settings.
  7. Type "Copilot" in the settings search bar.
  8. Select Copilot.
  9. Make sure the toggle, Show Copilot, is on.
  10. Click on the Copilot icon in the upper right.

The Copilot mobile app

Instructions may vary with phone.

  1. Download the app onto your phone.
  2. Click Log in.
  3. Click Continue with Microsoft.
  4. Choose your Virginia Tech account.
  5. Log in with your VT username and passphrase.
  6. Complete your multi-factor authentication

Copilot in Windows

  1. In your taskbar search, enter Copilot.
  2. Choose the Copilot app.
  3. Click on Go to Copilot for Work.
  4. This will open a browser and bring you to https://m365.cloud.microsoft/.

Copilot for Microsoft 365 is another version of Copilot that requires a license and is not currently accessible at Virginia Tech. However, Virginia Tech is evaluating its use through a pilot program.

You must be logged into your Virginia Tech Hokies account to get the best features and security through Enterprise Data Protection. For browsers, you know you are logged into your Virginia Tech account if when you click on your profile picture or icon in the upper-right corner of the window:

  • You see “Virginia Tech” in the ‘Account Manager’ window that pops up directly below your profile picture or icon.

    Image of the above instructions

     

What Data Protections Are in Place for Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech affiliates using Copilot when you are logged into your Virginia Tech account are protected by Microsoft's Enterprise Data Protection plan. This plan offers these protections:

  • All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+)  
  • All chat session data is deidentified and not associated with the user or their domain 
  • Chat sessions are maintained briefly to ensure conversation continuity, and the data is encrypted at rest (AES-128) 
  • After the chat session ends, prompts and responses are discarded
  • Chat session data is not used to train the underlying LLMs
  • Copilot uses multiple models hosted in a private instance of Azure Open AI. OpenAI does not have access to these models, or the data processed by them.
  • Search queries ground prompts and responses in the latest data from the Bing search index
  • Citations are added to responses to confirm data sources
  • Microsoft Copilot cannot access organizational content

Additional information can be found in this article by Microsoft, Copilot Privacy and Protections | Microsoft Learn. 

What Data May Be Used with Copilot at Virginia Tech

Since using Copilot requires sending data outside of Virginia Tech, this tool should only be used with low-risk data. Using Copilot with any Virginia Tech data sets that are classified as moderate- or high-risk is not authorized. For additional information on how data risk is assessed, please review the Virginia Tech’s Risk Classification Standard.

Low-risk data is defined in this standard as: 

  • data is intended for public disclosure, or
  • where the loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the data or system would have no adverse impact on Virginia Tech’s mission, safety, finances, or reputation.

How to Use Copilot at Virginia Tech

Copilot can still be used at Virginia Tech as a valuable assistant. With Copilot, you can: 

  • Create and edit documents, presentations, emails, and other text-based content 
  • Find relevant information and facts with links to referenced sources 
  • Generate summaries, outlines, bullet points, or captions of content 
  • Check grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style errors  
  • Suggest alternative ideas or paraphrasing of content 
  • Translate text between different languages or converting units and currencies 
  • Explore different topics, themes, or genres for writing 
  • Learn new skills, tips, or tricks to improve your productivity and efficiency 

Additional Information