Archive for June 2012

If you print it, go get it right away!

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Don't leave important, sensitive, or confidential material lying around the office.  Common printing areas are frequented by people coming and going.  Often you'll be in line to pick up your documents and others may handle them before you.  This can lead to unnecessary information disclosures.  One manager had a print job disappear, and had e-mailed the whole floor about it.  The pages never turned up.  As a rule, always use the closest print station, or a dedicated printer for confidential information, and go get it right away!

When Should I Share my Password?

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One day I received an e-mail from "support@widgets.edu" to my current university email account, saying I had reached my limit on email storage and they needed my password for maintenance, and if I did not go to a web page and give it to them, they would suspend my account.  Please be aware that staff members from T&C or any other department at CI will NEVER request that you send, transmit, email, enter into a link, or otherwise ask you for your password!  If you encounter a request of this sort, please DO NOT offer your information.  Delete the email or contact the Help Desk for guidance on what to do next. 

So... when should you share your password?  The answer to this question is always ... NEVER!

How Many Wires in a Wireless Building?

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CI's West Hall, scheduled for completion in 2015, is in the early design phase now. Today a group us met with the architects to discuss our overall technology strategy for the building. We are proceeding on the assumption that there will be very few hard-wired network devices of any kind - nearly everything will be wireless. While we may need more wireless infrastructure than in our current buildings, reducing the number of hard-wired stations will reduce the construction cost, the electricity needs and the cooling requirements for the building, making it not only more usable, but "greener" at the same time. So while we will still need some wires in a "wireless" building, we're excited about building a new building with many fewer wires.

Security Awareness Tip of the Week!

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Don't download sets of pictures from the Internet

A user downloaded a set of photos of pop icon Paris Hilton for her Windows desktop. Windows asked her to say yes to executing the file when she got it. Assuming it was just pictures, she agreed. Within a couple of hours, she knew something was wrong when her computer started to slow down to the point where she was unable to use it. Even when she rebooted, she couldn't launch her own programs. The IT department determined that she had downloaded a Trojan program along with the photo: her freebie photo had a malicious payload attached that used her computer to send out spam for a bad guy. Her computer had to be rebuilt to eliminate the program. She lost most of the day and a lot of her personal computer settings in the process.

Security Notice for LinkedIn Users

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Password Change Recommended

According to a message we’ve received from the CSU Virtual Information Security Center on Wednesday June 6th, as many as 300,000 LinkedIn passwords may have been compromised following an attack by Russian hackers.  If you use LinkedIn, we strongly recommend that you change your password immediately.

Security Awareness Tip of the Week!

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Don't tell anybody your password

This warning includes your systems administrator, who NEVER needs your password. One day I received an e-mail from "Support@Waidele.info", saying they needed my password for maintenance, and if I did not go to a webpage and give it to them, they would suspend my account. As it turns out, I'm the one in charge of "waidele.info" — so I'm the one who gives out accounts and does maintenance. Things might have ended differently if I had had an account with googlemail.com or aol.com. Then the senders would have called themselves "support@aol.com" and I might have been fooled.

Security Awareness Tip of the Day!

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Check for encryption or secure sites when providing confidential information online

Credit card and online banking sites are convenient and easy ways to purchase and handle financial transactions. They are also the most frequently spoofed or "faked" sites for phishing scams. Information you provide to online banking and shopping sites should be encrypted and the site's URL should begin with https. Some browsers have an icon representing a lock at the lower right of the browser window. For more information about phishing, please visit http://www.onguardonline.gov/phishing.html .