September Sees a 32% Increase in the Number of Ransomware Attacks
October 31st, Tip of the Week | IT security vendor NCC Group’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Report for September 2023 reveals a surge in ransomware attacks in just one month. Most of these cybercriminals still rely on phishing as their initial attack vector, highlighting the importance of security awareness training as a critical part of W&L’s cyber defense strategy. The goal is to fend off social engineering attempts via emails that are used to trick users into kicking off the attack. Be sure to use the Phish Alert Button whenever you receive a suspicious message.
Who Should Students and Employees Contact With Questions Related to Cybersecurity?
October 17th, Tip of the Week | The best place to start would be the ITS Helpdesk at x4357 or help@wlu.edu. The Helpdesk staff are very knowledgeable and efficient in connecting you with the resources, solutions, and personnel to get your issues or questions resolved quickly. Last year the Helpdesk worked to resolve 10,111 questions or tickets that came into the Web Help Desk system. Of those 10K+ tickets, 618 involved security related assistance, which included spam/phishing events, security inquiries, security remediation, software updates, infected computers and login or password issues.
Turn on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for all Your Accounts
October 3rd, Tip of the Week | Look for and turn on MFA for all your accounts. It may be called two-factor authentication, two-step authentication or similar. Select which MFA method to use from the options provided by each account or app. Examples are:
- Receiving a numeric code by text or email
- Using an authenticator app: These phone apps generate a new code every 30 seconds. Use this code to complete logging in.
- Biometrics: This uses our facial recognition or fingerprints to confirm our identities.
Pro Tip, according to CISA.gov, Check to see whether your email accounts, banks, healthcare providers, and other important accounts offer MFA and enable it by default. If they don’t, ask them why not. It’s your information they’re putting at risk!
