Wait, didn’t you just get a newsletter a few days ago? Yes, but that was May, and May was busy. It is now June and by the time you are reading this, I will be out of the office enjoying some vacation. I hope everyone is able to do the same at some point this summer. Whatever you do, don’t take a vacation from being cyber-aware and vigilant about protecting your data.
Cyber-attackers don’t take the summer off, so we will continue to be inundated with phishing emails and other types of attacks. This time of year is ripe for juicy phishing lures, and with the World Cup starting in just a few days, there is an extra subject for attackers to attempt to exploit. Also, don’t forget that this is the 250th anniversary of our great country and there will be plenty of related phishing emails. No subject is off-limits for cyber-criminals. We will all need to rely on what we learned from our cybersecurity awareness training to avoid falling for these attacks.
Wait…you say you haven’t completed your cybersecurity awareness training for spring 2026? Oh no…you should get on that! The course will close June 15th and there will be no further extensions. Those of you who have not completed the training two consecutive semesters (missing both fall and spring semesters) will start experiencing some inconvenience when logging in to your account. Cybersecurity awareness training is important both to you and to the college. While it is counterproductive to deny you access to the college network and your account, that doesn’t mean it can’t be made…uncomfortable. Please take the few minutes required and complete the “Spring 2026” cybersecurity training by going to https://game.hoxhunt.com and entering your Berry email address, then completing the login through our normal login process. It will take only about 20 minutes to complete the training and preserve your current login experience.
Finally, we will be making changes over the next few weeks in how managed computers are maintained and updated. With the advance of artificial intelligence (AI) models finding software vulnerabilities (see last month’s newsletter) and cybercriminals using AI to write exploits for these vulnerabilities, the window to install updates is getting smaller. The full update process usually requires a reboot to complete and we will be forcing reboots for machines that fall behind new update schedules. This may require you to modify your routines to avoid a potential loss of data if/when your machine is rebooted.
All of these changes are the result of adapting to changing times, more potent adversaries, and rapid advances in cybersecurity. We don’t make these changes lightly, nor are we attempting to punish anyone for any perceived missteps. The baseline for cybersecurity is changing and we are adapting to the “new normal” (as much as I dislike that term).
That’s all for this month…short and to the point. Next month we will discuss international travel some more and what changes we anticipate are coming in regard to access to resources when you are connecting from outside the United States.
All Berry students, faculty and staff have MFA enabled on their Berry account, and you should use it in the most secure way via the Microsoft Authenticator app on your smart phone. But don’t stop there! Use the Microsoft Authenticator as your second factor on any site that supports Google Authenticator. Turn on MFA/2FA everywhere you can. Yes, it will take you another few seconds to log in, but your data and account will be safer.
Please continue to report those phishing emails! Avoid using “unsubscribe” links and report both spam and phishing via the “Report” button.
If I’m not covering a topic of cybersecurity you are interested in or concerned about, please let me know. I want to be your first and best resource on cybersecurity information, so tell me how I can help and inform you.
Check out https://support.berry.edu for more information about OIT and the services we provide. You can always check back here for warnings about current phishing emails, confirmations of valid emails you might have a question about, and data breach notifications.
Food For Thought
OK, I’m a huge Lego fan and this video confirmed a lot of the thoughts I have had about Lego themes, branding, and partnerships in the past. If you’ve ever wondered why you don’t see something in Lego (real Lego, not the other bricks), this video does a good job explaining, but if you read some of the comments, you’ll see they are not always consistent…
Featured Image: Photo by Tim Bernhard on Unsplash
April News from Information Security
