NBME is implementing a security upgrade to its web-based testing that is expected to be in place by June 25, 2018.
Please read the enclosed information and note the action items below:
- Review the information below to learn the minimum system requirements for web-based testing.
- Take steps to confirm system compatibility and make the necessary upgrades.
What’s happening?
NBME’s web-based testing vendor will disable support for Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 and upgrade to TLS 1.1 by June 25, 2018 to align with industry standards for security and data integrity. TLS is a protocol that provides privacy and data integrity between two communicating applications. It is the most widely deployed security protocol used today and is used for web browsers and other applications that require data to be securely exchanged over a network.
What this means for medical students
Some older web browsers and operating systems (OS) are not compatible with TLS 1.1. Browser and OS incompatibility will prevent you from connecting to NMBE’s secure servers for web-based testing. To avoid any issues on test day, please review the information below and make any needed upgrades to your operating system(s) and browser(s).
To continue administering web-based examinations, you will need to upgrade your browser and OS by June 25, 2018 to meet the requirements outlined in the table below:
Here are the full system requirements.
Failure to act on the information provided in this notice will impact your ability to administer or take web-based examinations starting June 25, 2018.
- If you have questions for NBME, please contact nbmewebtest@nbme.org.
- If you have OS or browser questions related to the requirements, contact the UITS Support Center number at (317) 274-HELP.