Tag: Phishing

It’s June again and SOAR sessions, camps, and all kinds of summer activities are in full swing, which is why this newsletter is so late in showing up. I assumed that few of you would have time to take a look at my monthly musings on cybersecurity awareness until things settle down a bit. June is rapidly passing by, almost half gone now (more by the time you read this), so here we go with another few hundred words about cybersecurity awareness training, phishing email attacks, separation of personal and work activity, sensitivity labels, generative AI fakes, and any other topic I can squeeze into a couple of paragraphs.

It’s May again, and (most of) the students have retreated to their homes until the fall. It is the time for many a project to take off running toward completion. This summer even brings with it a change in leadership for the college, which will no doubt cause many adjustments to everyone’s routine. I hope everyone’s projects and summer work go smoothly and are successful.

April is here and the semester is winding down. I hope everyone’s semester is going well and you are able to both get all your work done and enjoy the spring weather. I have two topics this month that are not new, but, as all things cybersecurity related, have changed, intensified or obviously need clarification. Those topics are phishing emails and keeping your personal activities separate from your work activities. I want to take a little different approach to these two topics, so hang with me and take the next few minutes to finish reading this newsletter.

With Spring Break coming next week, I wanted to get this out to everyone this week, but I have been slow on the execution of that goal. Spring Break! Yes, we are already there, with the six week plunge to the end of classes coming immediately after. I’m sure everyone probably needs to catch their breath. I only have a couple of things to share this month, so this newsletter will be brief.

I want to start our discussion with an examination of a different type of security, or safety, if you want to be pedantic about the topic. I’m referring to the various mechanisms in your vehicle to keep you safe. Modern automobiles have all kinds of safety technology in them to keep passengers safe. Strong, resilient frames, crumple zones, automatic braking systems and the like all contribute to the protection of the occupants. The most basic of these is the seat belt.

Well, this has never happened before. This is the fifth year we’ve had a virtual scavenger hunt for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but the first year that NO ONE completed it. I’m positive there are a myriad number of factors contributing to this outcome.

No Cybersecurity Awareness Month would be complete without a discussion of phishing emails. Everyone needs to know how to spot these attacks and what to do with them once you suspect an email of being “phishy”. The task of spotting…