New Security Awareness Training Coming to Campus

Cybersecurity Wellness ProgramJust in time for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, SMU is changing how we do cybersecurity awareness training. Last year, we launched a unique program focused on cybersecurity habits. Participants opting-in learned how to master cybersecurity habits and built a custom-tailored plan to make security feel easy. The responses from individuals completing the course were overwhelmingly positive.

Based on the award-winning book Well Aware: Master the Nine Cybersecurity Habits to Protect Your Future, the Cybersecurity Wellness Program focuses on Continue reading New Security Awareness Training Coming to Campus

Fall 2023 Security Report Now Available

Alice in Cyberland badgeIn Lewis Caroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, during the Red Queen’s race, the Red Queen famously states to Alice, “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!

Our latest OIT Quarterly Security Update edition is now available to the SMU community and is dedicated to Alice in Wonderland because cybersecurity works exactly the same way: we need to Continue reading Fall 2023 Security Report Now Available

Summer 2023 OIT Security Update Now Available

Fire Safety BadgeProtecting the safety of the members of our campus community is the most important thing we do. For this issue, we’ve dedicated our quarterly security update to focus entirely on how to help protect yourself and your family from a fire—whether on campus or off. We always want you to be prepared for an emergency, so we cover why batteries catch fire, the top causes of fires in the home, and how to prevent them in the first place, plus essential fire safety tips for your home. Continue reading Summer 2023 OIT Security Update Now Available

Winter 2023 Security Report Now Available

ChatbotOur latest OIT Quarterly Security Update edition is now available to the SMU community.

This issue focuses on the generative AI everyone is talking about—ChatGPT. We may have heard it mentioned on the news or by colleagues lately, so in this month’s edition, take a deeper dive into ChatGPT with the help of ChatGPT. Most everything written in this month’s newsletter was authored with the help of an AI. You’ll even see the prompts we used to get the AI talking. Continue reading Winter 2023 Security Report Now Available

Protect Yourself: Fighting MFA Fatigue

MFA FatigueLast week, OIT notified the campus of a successful phishing campaign targeting the SMU community. In this campaign, we noted that cybercriminals had begun using a new technique where they repeatedly send Duo requests to users who have shared their username and password to annoy users into approving the two-factor request.

This technique, referred to as “MFA fatigue,” has become increasingly common, and over the next several weeks, OIT will begin implementing measures to combat this trend. In the meantime, we recommend you take the following actions if you notice something suspicious: Continue reading Protect Yourself: Fighting MFA Fatigue