From desktop and mobile devices to smart appliances, technology is deeply ingrained in our lives. While new technologies can benefit our society in many ways, they also bring new opportunities for criminals to disrupt online activity at home, school and work.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CAM), which has been observed every October since 2004, aims to highlight some of the challenges that exist in the world of cybersecurity and provide clear, practical guidance that everyone can follow to create a digital world that is safe and secure for themselves and others.
As a CAM Champion, the University of Utah is proud to support this vital online safety awareness and education effort led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA).
This year’s CAM theme is “Keeping the World Safe” and encourages us all to take four simple steps every day to stay safe online:
Use strong passwords and a password manager. Long, complex, and unique passwords help prevent account compromise. And using a password manager makes it easier to track and remember your passwords. Today’s password managers are more secure than ever before. They’re much more secure than using a physical notebook, storing passwords in a notes app, or reusing easy-to-remember passwords. Compare your options and find a trusted program that works for you. Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever possible at home, school, and work. MFA adds a second step to verify your identity when you log into one of your accounts. Requiring multiple authentication methods helps prevent your account from being compromised even if a criminal manages to hijack your password. In this way, MFA makes it harder for attackers to break into your account with password cracking tools. Recognize and report phishing. Phishing is a primary tactic used by cybercriminals who are adept at making their content and interactions look enticing. From the design of the content to the language, it can be hard to tell if the content is genuine or a potential threat. That’s why it’s so important to know the warning signs. Unnatural or unusual formatting, overly explicit call-outs to use hyperlinks or open attachments, and messages that exude a sense of urgency are all signs that the content you receive may be a potential phishing attempt and should be treated with caution. For more information on phishing, see the Office of Information Security’s Phish Tank webpage. Install updates regularly and turn on automatic updates. When you see a message that it’s time to update your apps, operating system, software, web browser, and more, you may be tempted to postpone the update or even ignore the message. However, applying the latest upgrades and IT security patches is one of the best defenses against online threats. So don’t wait: update now.
In addition to awareness and education activities, the U continues to “Secure Our World” and strengthens the University’s cybersecurity posture with the ongoing implementation of an integrated cybersecurity toolset. Tools include Network Access Control (NAC), default protections at the network perimeter, two-factor authentication (2FA), data loss prevention (DLP), privileged access management (PAM), endpoint detection and response (EDR), and antivirus software. For more information, see this Node 4 article.
To learn more about CAM and how to get involved, visit the CISA CAM page or the NCA CAM page.
