cybersecurity – IT Connect

Winter 2023 Security Report Now Available

Our 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 Fatigue Last 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

Phishing Email Simulations Return After Hiatus

Phishing attempts—those pesky emails that try to lure you into revealing personal info like passwords and financial information—are constantly evolving to thwart the University’s effort to stop them. While users only receive a small percentage of these emails in their inboxes, it takes one wrong click to start off a chain of new attempts.

For several years, SMU has worked to make our community more aware of these phishing attempts by sending simulated phishing emails. While we all have had to pivot and change our routines over the past couple of years, it was decided it was best not to add one more thing to everyone’s plate, so we took a break from the simulation. Yet, with the recent influx of successful phishing messages, the OIT Information Security Team will relaunch the simulated phishing email campaign in the coming weeks. Continue reading Phishing Email Simulations Return After Hiatus

Cyber Wellness Program Helps SMU Community Discover Its Strengths

Last October, SMU offered employees the option of participating in a pilot of our first-ever Cyber Wellness Program. The Cybersecurity Wellness Program is based on the award-winning book, Well Aware: Master the Nine Cybersecurity Habits to Protect Your Future by SMU’s CSO, George Finney. Well Aware helps make security easy by making security a habit.

As we all should now realize, cybersecurity is critical for success in our modern world, and learning to master your cybersecurity habits will not only help you to protect your company and your career but also your family and your future.

The nine cybersecurity habits are Continue reading Cyber Wellness Program Helps SMU Community Discover Its Strengths

Fall 2022 Security Report Now Available

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

This issue is dedicated to online scams. We all have seen many of them of late—let’s find out how we can stay safe. Also, we look at how cybercriminals are using persuasion and influence to get you to do what they want. You can find all this and more in our latest update. Continue reading Fall 2022 Security Report Now Available