UNF Cyber Security Awareness Month Activities
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Information Technology Services will sponsor events that focus on several areas of online information security. Weekly themes include:
- Social Media Privacy: Oct. 8 to Oct. 12
- Protect Mobile Devices: Oct. 15 to Oct. 19
- Fend Off Phishing and Cyber Scams: Oct. 22 to Oct. 26
- Be Safe Online: Oct. 29 to Oct. 31
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to a brown bag discussion titled "Keeping your Data Safe in an Unsafe World" from 12 to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 31 in the Student Union, Room 3703, Ballrooms C&D. Topics will include security myths, top security issues on campus, ways to protect sensitive data, how to spot fraud on card swipe devices, and more. Bring your lunch and join Information Technology Services for an enlightening presentation and discussion
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The live discussion will take place in the Student Union, Room 3703, Ballrooms C & D. Students, faculty, and staff are invited. Please bring your lunch and beverage. Halloween candy will be provided.
Each week, a cyber security tip will be included in Osprey Update. Students are encouraged to submit an entry in the Information Security Awareness Student Video and Poster Contest (deadline March 8, 2013, more information below).
Below are the activities that ITS will provide during the month of October to increase awareness and prevention of online security problems at UNF. The current week's theme and activities are highlighted in yellow below.
Week One: October 1-5
Theme:
Promote Cyber Security Awareness activities
Week Two: October 8-12
Theme:
Social Media Privacy: Reputation Protection. Is your reputation on the line? We'll look at being public on social media while protecting your privacy. What do you have to lose? Maybe a lot.
Tip of the Week: Five Tips for Being Private with Social Media
The popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and others has expanded tremendously in recent years, with nearly two-thirds of Americans using these sites regularly. These sites are prime targets for malware distribution and scams because of the volume of users and the amount of personal information being posted. As part of Cyber Security Awareness Month, ITS offers these five tips for staying private with social media.
- Don't assume privacy. Confidentail information should never be shared. Only post information that you are comfortable sharing with a stranger.
- Don't sign up for a social networking account using your UNF email address. Create a new email address strictly to connect with your social networking profiles(s). Make sure the email account has a strong password.
- Be cautious of scams. Criminals take advantage of the open nature of social networking sites to defraud individuals. Be cautious when contacted on a social networking site with a request for money or with an offer that’s surprisingly good.
- Review a site's privacy policy. Some sites may share information such as email addresses or user preferences with other parties. If a site's privacy policy is vague or does not properly protect your information, do not use the site.
- Be cautious of installing applications. Some social networking sites provide the ability to add or install third party applications or “apps”, such as games. Keep in mind there is little or no quality control or review of these apps and they may have full access to your account and the data you share.
Event:
Webinar: Being Private with Social Media: Social networking sites are prime targets for malware distribution and scams because of the volume of users and the amount of personal information being posted. ITS presented a webinar and online discussion on Thursday, Oct. 11 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Click here to watch the recorded webinar.
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Week Three: October 15-19
Week Four: October 22-26
Theme:
Fend Off Phishing & Cyber Scams. Be alert and Informed. This week focuses on raising your level of awareness. We'll teach you how to fend off fishing attacks, spot scams, navigate safely online, and more.
Tip of the Week: Fend Off Phishing and Cyber Scams
This week’s Cyber Security Awareness theme is Fend Off Phishing and Cyber Scams. UNF students, faculty, and staff have experienced numerous phishing attacks in the past year, usually in the form of an e-mail that attempts to solicit personal information or trick them into visiting a malicious Web site. Be suspicious of warnings about resetting your account or having it shut off if you don't respond. Be aware that no reputable organization will ask you for your account or personal details, such as your SSN or password, in an e-mail. Learn more about Phishing and how to protect yourself at http://www.unf.edu/anf/its/security/.
Event:
Data/Information Security Workshop
Date: Friday, October 26, 2012
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Location: Building 58W, Student Union Auditorium, Room 2704
Representatives from One Stop, Information Technology Services and Compliance will facilitate discussions about data/information security and confidentiality from a compliance perspective in a workshop format. The information to be shared at this workshop is of critical importance to the day-to-day operations of each department. Topics will include the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, confidential data and how such data should be maintained, records management, etc. Register online by logging onto the myWings portal and clicking on "CPDT Class Register (Training)" in the "Quick Links" channel on the "Home" tab.
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Week Five: October 29-31
Theme:
Be Safe Online. Take Control. In the end, only you are responsible for your own safety. We wrap up the month by pulling it all together and adding a few tips on how to be proactive when it comes to protecting you and your computer.
Tip of the Week: Increase your Security Online
Electronic banking, online tax returns, Internet shopping; we’re all doing it. There are major worries about online fraud, theft, malware and identity theft, yet most of us carry on in the hope that none of these things will happen to us. Don’t trust luck, be pro-active and take steps to increase your online security.
Tips for Being Safe Online
- Create a unique password for each online account. Sharing passwords among various accounts (E-mail, social media sites, retail sites, tec.) means that an attacker who obtains your password for one, can potentially access them all and do far more damage.
- When logging into websites, look for the lock icon to indicate that your connection is securely encrypted. If it’s not shown, your login credentials may be susceptible to interception by malicious parties as they traverse the internet. In Internet Explorer, the lock icon can be found at the top of the page near the web address and refresh icon.
- Always use the “Logout” button when leaving a website. This ensures that the server on the other end knows you’re done and will no longer process requests for your account until you log back in.
- Be wary of free and open wireless hotspots, they often do not encrypt your wireless traffic which means anyone nearby can see your traffic. Even though the operator may be trustworthy, other patrons around you may not be.
- If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply and do not click on hyperlinks that may be included.
- If you're not certain of a link, type it into your browser yourself. This defeats attempts by attackers to hide the real link by using an image or similar method that appears valid but actually leads to the malicious site.
- Consider reading e-mail in plain text mode. Many of the tricks attackers use rely on hiding what they’re doing using html or some form of rich text format. If you read your e-mail in plain text, it won’t be as pretty, but phishing attacks stand out like sore thumbs.
Event: Brown Bag Lunch Presentation and Discussion on Keeping your Data Safe in an Unsafe World
Date: October 31
Time: 12 noon to 1 p.m.
Location: Student Union, Room 3703, Ballrooms C & D
Bring your lunch and beverage
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Information Security Awareness Student Video & Poster Contest
Win cash, gain experience, and earn international recognition with one short video or a poster!
The EDUCAUSE & Internet2 Higher Education Information Security Council (HEISC) is conducting a contest in search of short information security awareness videos and posters developed by college students for college students. The contest seeks creative, topical, and effective videos (two minutes or less) and posters that focus attention on information security problems and how best to handle them.
Winners will receive cash prizes, and their videos and posters will be featured on the HEISC website (www.educause.edu/security). The winning videos and posters may be used in campus security awareness campaigns.
A gold, silver, and bronze prize will be awarded in three categories—training films of two minutes or less, 30-second public service announcements (PSAs), and posters—for a total of nine cash prizes. Honorable mention prizes will also be awarded.
Cash prizes for videos
Gold: $2,000
Silver: $1,500
Bronze: $1,000
Cash prizes for posters
Gold: $1,500
Silver: $1,000
Bronze: $500
Deadline: March 8, 2013.
For more information, visit http://www.educause.edu/SecurityVideoContest.
