This October marks the 20th Cybersecurity Awareness Month! This means information security has been a national and global topic for decades, and the need to remain vigilant online is growing more important every year. By keeping up with the latest scam trends and security threats, and the best practices to avoid becoming a victim of one, you will have a much better chance of protecting yourself, your family and the University from vulnerability.
Ultimately, scammers are after access. They want your information, your passwords, and your money. Playing on your emotions, creating a sense of urgency, or presenting a too-good-to-be-true scenario are all ways scammers try to get the better of their victim. Whether they’re doing so through the lens of a romance scam, a job scam, a takeover scam, or so on - their need to get you to act fast and generate an emotional reaction is key to their success.
Resources for Staying Cyber Aware
Scam School is a video series produced by the Office of Information Technologies that takes you inside the mind of a scammer to help you better understand their tactics so that you can avoid their tricks. Understanding a scam from the side of the bad actor is a great way to learn what to look out for, and how they DON’T want you to react to their threats. Take a look at these clever videos at go.nd.edu/scamschool.
Staying up to date with the University’s latest security awareness training is another critical factor in remaining cyber aware. Available later this month in Endeavor, this training helps you identify potential threats to strengthen your overall security practices and better prepare you to catch scams.
This computer-based training program provides the basic tools necessary to stay safe online and shares best practices to avoid many common security threats. The program covers the topics of:
- Phishing
- Perfecting Passwords
- Credential Compromise
- Email and Social Engineering Security
- Common Risks and Threats for Mobile Devices
- Cloud and Internet Security
While the OIT Information Security team has a strong foundation in place to keep Notre Dame systems safe, statistics show that most cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error. Employees who complete security awareness training will be better prepared to spot and react to security threats, in turn keeping themselves and the great Notre Dame population safe. Notre Dame’s security awareness training will be assigned to you via Endeavor.