August News from Information Security
Welp! August is here! Welcome to the end of summer (although the temperatures will most likely not agree with that statement for a while) and the beginning of the Fall 2024 semester. Some of you will read this well before classes start and others may not see it until after August 26th, so I’ll say “welcome” to those of you who have not read this newsletter before and “welcome back” to those who have.
There is so much going on these days – a wild presidential election campaign, an “interesting” summer Olympics (which will be over before you read this, but is still in progress as I write), a volatile state of world politics, and the thrill and wonder of generally available generative AI. All of these circumstances increase the number of threats to cybersecurity and to your personal information security. Scam and phishing emails surrounding these topics are exploding, aided into creation using generative AI. Batten down the hatches, there’s going to be even more as we approach November and the presidential election.
You are a part of the “front line” in dealing with these attacks, particularly the phishing and scam emails. Automated defenses can only stop so many of the dangerous emails from reaching your email inbox. All of that to segue to the fact that for our semiannual (I have officially abandoned the term biannual, as it was causing way too much confusion for so many of you, although I am still somewhat mystified as to why) cybersecurity awareness training in the fall, we have a new training provider. To jump straight to the part most of you will like, the new platform provides for “pretests”, allowing you to skip portions of the training if you can demonstrate you are proficient in those areas. We will definitely use this feature in the fall to make this twice-a-year event more palatable for many of you. It’s a feature that some have requested for a while and we’re glad we were able to find a service that provides this worthwhile benefit.
As I’ve already touched on, there is so much happening that I don’t really know where to start. We’ll open the fall cybersecurity awareness training in September and remind you about it weekly in October. Why would we remind you weekly in October? Because October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month! There will be a virtual scavenger hunt (with prizes), weekly articles on important topics, flyers posted with quick reminders of important cybersecurity awareness concepts, presentations on “hot” cybersecurity themes like generative AI, recognizing phishing (in this age of generative AI), and staying both secure and properly informed in our strangely connected world.
I look forward to starting the academic year strong, enjoying a great Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and seeing you all complete our required cybersecurity awareness training. Here’s to a great fall semester!
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 MFA/2FA on 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 spam via the “Report message” button, just like you would a phishing email.
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 how I can help and inform you.
If you’re not following Berry OIT on Facebook (@BerryCollegeOIT), Twitter (@berryoit), or Instagram (@berrycollegeoit), you should be, as more information from OIT and specifically Information Security, will be provided using these outlets. If you are not into social media, you can also subscribe to get updates via email. Just use the link available in the right-hand sidebar on the website.
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. There’s also the events calendar where events will be posted, like Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Food For Thought
Inflation has hit most everyone hard over the past three and a half years. Everything is more expensive to some degree or another. While it is mostly inevitable that things get more expensive and none of us like to have to spend more of our money for the same amount or less of a given product, at least we are not in a position (yet) to have the government ration any given product. Take, for example, this article about how sliced bread was banned during part of World War II. Now that really is some “food for thought”.
Featured Image: Rette Solomon/Berry College
