To kick off October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we invite you to join SMU’s Chief Security Officer, George Finney, as he hosts our webinar “Hacking Your Brain for Better Cybersecurity“ on October 6, 2021, at 9 a.m. George will also be giving away a copy of his book, Well Aware, to one random lucky attendee! Continue reading Join Us for “Hacking Your Brain for Better Cybersecurity!”
Tag: Security Awareness Month
Popular Linux Utility Security Flaw Found, Patched
We’re about halfway through Security Awareness Month, and we have another security vulnerability to report for Linux users.
The Hacker News recently reported a flaw that was discovered in the “sudo” utility, which is installed on most popular Linux distributions and allows administrators of a computer to run commands as the root user without changing desktop sessions. The flaw in question could allow a hacker to bypass security policies in place on the computer to run commands without proper authorization.
It has also been reported that this vulnerability is really only possible in very specific configurations. However, it is still essential to stay on top of these reports and to install security updates on your computer as soon as possible. This writer has checked two Linux devices – one running Ubuntu and the other running Linux Mint – and a patched version of sudo was already available for installation, so most Debian-based flavors of Linux should now have the update available.
If you are concerned about your Linux PC being affected, simply run your distribution’s default package manager’s update function (here’s info on Ubuntu and Fedora as examples) to see if a patch is ready!
Internet Applications, Internet Safety, and You
As more applications are run from the internet, rather than installed locally on a device, each of us needs to become more cognizant of browser security settings and internet safety practices. The following are a few key tips for internet safety. Continue reading Internet Applications, Internet Safety, and You
Cyber Security Awareness Month is Here
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). Technology plays such an integral role in our daily lives—everything from paying bills to controlling our TV lineup is managed online. The wealth of information stored online about each one of us is staggering. As part of Security Awareness Month will be looking at how to keep you safe and protected both online and at work.
Just take a moment to consider the various accounts you have and the services you use. These companies have information about your spending patterns, your entertainment patterns, and your various interests right at their fingertips. Although most of us enjoy the convenience of having all of this data stored and synchronized across multiple devices, there is a cost to having this data propagated everywhere. The protection of this information starts with you.
Throughout the month of October, OIT will send you weekly emails that will help you increase your knowledge and awareness about cybersecurity.
Security Showdown
As part of Cyber Security Awareness Month, we will be hosting our first Security Showdown on the afternoon on October 21st. Go ahead and mark your calendars. The theme this year is “I work with Superheroes” and if you know of any cybersecurity superheroes, we want to know about them. We will have more information about this interactive event in the coming weeks.
