Cyber Security Awareness Month

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

Hello... Is It Scams You're Looking For?

In this week’s scam, you receive a text message from an unknown phone number that reads “Hello.” The message seems harmless, and you might think it’s a genuine text meant for someone else. Because the message appears friendly, you may be tempted to respond.

However, this message is actually a text-based phishing scam called a smishing attack. Scammers send thousands of these messages to random phone numbers, hoping to receive a reply. If you reply to the text, the scammer confirms that your phone number is active and that they have contacted a real person. They will continue texting you to try to gain your trust so that they can steal your data or financial information. What you thought was an innocent text from a wrong number is actually a scam! 

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

  • If you think you have received a smishing message, block the number and report the text as junk or spam on your smartphone.
  • You should never share personal or financial information in text messages, especially if you do not recognize the number!
  • If you receive a text message from an unknown number, simply don’t answer. It’s not rude to protect yourself!

View More

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

 

  Latest News
Phishing Click Rates Triple in 2024
Phishing Click Rates Triple in 2024
Wednesday - January 8, 2025
The rate at which enterprise users clicked on phishing lures nearly trebled in 2024, according to new research by Netskope.
Read more
The Most Dangerous Pop Culture Passwords in 2024
The Most Dangerous Pop Culture Passwords in 2024
Monday - June 3, 2024
In a world where over 2,200 cyberattacks are made per day, passwords are an internet user's baseline defense against digital ne'er-do-wells.
Read more
FBI Fraud Alert
FBI Fraud Alert
Tuesday - March 19, 2024
If you or a loved one were solicited through a computer pop-up, social media site, dating site, text, email, or phone call by someone you have never met, and answer "YES" to one of the following questions, you may have been targeted by a SCAM.
Read more

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