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 Job Doesn't Pass a Background Check
In this week's scam, cybercriminals are targeting job-seekers. Let’s say that you’re searching for work using a job site such as ZipRecruiter or LinkedIn. You come across a job posting that seems suspiciously good. The position appears to be with a well-known organization and offers a high salary for what seems to be an easy role. You apply, and within a day, you receive a follow-up email from a "hiring manager."
The hiring manager wants to meet with you and asks you to click a link so that you can confirm your direct deposit information before the interview. You are taken to a page that asks you for your credit card information, Social Security number, and home address. The catch is that the job you applied for was actually fake and posted by cybercriminals. If you enter any personal or financial information on the page, they will be able to steal it!
Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to a job scam:
- Be suspicious of jobs with unusually high pay. If a salary seems too good to be true, it probably is.
- Use extreme caution before providing any personal or financial information, until you are sure that the employer and job offer are legitimate.
- Pay attention to the job recruiter's contact information. Scammers often use phone numbers or email addresses that aren’t affiliated with the organization they claim to work for.
Time It Takes a Hacker to Brute Force Your Password in 2023
| 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 | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly |
| 6 | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly |
| 7 | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly |
| 8 | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | 1 sec |
| 9 | Instantly | Instantly | 4 secs | 21 secs | 1 min |
| 10 | Instantly | Instantly | 4 mins | 22 mins | 1 hour |
| 11 | Instantly | 6 secs | 3 hours | 22 hours | 4 days |
| 12 | Instantly | 2 mins | 7 days | 2 months | 8 months |
| 13 | Instantly | 1 hour | 12 months | 10 years | 47 years |
| 14 | Instantly | 1 day | 52 years | 608 years | 3k years |
| 15 | 2 secs | 4 weeks | 2k years | 37k years | 232k years |
| 16 | 15 secs | 2 years | 140k years | 2m years | 16m years |
| 17 | 3 mins | 56 years | 7m years | 144m years | 1bn years |
| 18 | 26 mins | 1k years | 378m years | 8bn years | 79bn years |
Phishing Click Rates Triple in 2024
The Most Dangerous Pop Culture Passwords in 2024
FBI Fraud Alert
Cyber Security Alerts
What is being exploited?
Vulnerability in Windows CryptoAPI that allows malicious executables using a spoofed
code-signing certificate to appear as if it was from a trusted source.
What does this affect?
Attackers can conduct man-in-the-middle attacks and decrypt confidential information
on user connections to spoofed software that appears legitimate.
Which Operating Systems does this affect?
Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019
How to mitigate this?
Apply critical patches to affected systems as soon as possible.
For more information:
CVE-2020-0601
What is being exploited?
Vulnerability in Windows Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) that allows specially
crafted requests to execute arbitrary code on the target system.
What does this affect?
Attackers can gain access to the target system with full user rights that would allow
them to install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new users.
Which Operating Systems does this affect?
Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019
How to mitigate this?
Apply critical patches to affected systems as soon as possible.
For more information:
CVE-2020-0609 & CVE-2020-0610
What is being exploited?
Vulnerability in Windows Remote Desktop Client that allows the server to execute arbitrary
code on the target system after an unsuspecting user connects to it.
What does this affect?
Attackers can trick the user into connecting to a compromised server and gain access
to the target system with full user rights that would allow them to install programs;
view, change, or delete data; or create new users.
Which Operating Systems does this affect?
Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows RT, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server
2012, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019
How to mitigate this?
Apply critical patches to affected systems as soon as possible.
For more information:
CVE-2020-0611
Windows 10 & Windows Server 2016 and newer
1. Search: Check for Updates
2. Click “Check for Updates” then install all updates
Windows 8 and older & Windows Server 2012 and older
1. Navigate: Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Update
2. Click “Check for Updates” then install all updates