Information Security

Mission Statement

The Information Security Office is committed to lowering the risk profile of the University’s electronic information by implementing industry best practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of student, faculty, and staff information. We uphold the University’s compliance obligations by developing information security policies, providing security awareness training, and overseeing the implementation of strategic information security initiatives.

Scam of the Week

This Text Is a Trick

Your phone buzzes with a text claiming to be from Apple Pay account services. You glance down to read it, and you feel a rush of fear. The text states that someone just charged $8,250 to your account. The message gives you a case number and phone number and warns that a second $8,250 charge will go through in 35 minutes unless you call the phone number right away. With the clock ticking, you might feel panicked and pressured to call.

But this is actually a smishing, or text message phishing, scam! If you call the number in the text, you won't reach Apple Support. Instead, cybercriminals pretending to be Apple Support will ask for your name, credit card number, or the email address associated with your real Apple account. If you share these details, cybercriminals could take over your account and steal your money!

Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to a smishing scam:

If you get a text about a big, unexpected charge, don't call the number in the message. Instead, navigate to your Apple Pay app or to your bank's website directly to check your account.
Never share your banking details or personal information with someone who contacts you unexpectedly, even if they claim to be from Apple Support.
Cybercriminals often use deadlines and fear to rush you into making quick decisions. Always stop and think before you act!

Time It Takes a Hacker to Brute Force Your Password in 2025
Hardware: 12 x RTX 5090 | Password hash: bcrypt(10)

Number of Characters	Number Only	Lowercase Letters	Upper and Lower Case Letters	Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters	Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters, Symbols
4	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly
5	Instantly	Instantly	57 minutes	2 hours	4 hours
6	Instantly	46 minutes	2 days	6 Days	2 weeks
7	Instantly	20 hours	4 months	1 year	2 years
8	Instantly	3 weeks	15 years	62 years	164 years
9	2 hours	2 years	791 years	3k years	11k years
10	1 day	40 years	41k years	238k years	803k years
11	1 week	1k years	2m years	14m years	56m years
12	3 months	27k years	111m years	917m years	3bn years
13	3 years	705k years	5bn years	56bn years	275bn years
14	28 years	18m years	300bn years	3tn years	19tn years
15	284 years	477m years	15tn years	218tn years	1qd years
16	2k years	12bn years	812tn years	13qd years	94qd years
17	28k years	322bn years	42qd years	840qd years	6qn years
18	284k years	8tn years	2qn years	52qn years	463qn years