Imagine inviting a few close friends to a house party via Facebook and having 4,000 people RSVP. USD's Cyber Security Awareness Month, according to Student Technology Services Manager Mark Zocher, is meant to help protect campus members from security threats such as this, which happened to an Australian teenager after his Facebook account was hacked in February.
October is the eighth annual CSAM, and Facebook account hacking is only one of the many examples that highlight the importance of computer and password security.
Zocher said that October is "a time to remind people of how to protect their identity and their computer while using the Internet."
"It might seem like a no-brainer," Zocher said, "but we have about 75 students, faculty and staff per year in the USD community who get their passwords stolen or cracked, sending out spam to the world and putting their data at risk."
Lead Instructional and Media Technology Analyst Michelle Yeung is the head of USD's CSAM. According to Yeung, the purpose of the month is to educate students and faculty about how to navigate through a "digital society" safely, protecting the technology we use, the networks we connect to and the digital assets we share.
"It is our shared responsibility to protect ourselves and others with awareness and just a few simple steps," Yeung said.
Two main tips for increasing computer and Internet protection are to never share passwords with anyone and to pick a different password for USD accounts.
"USD does an excellent job controlling malicious attacks on our network and systems including the use of one of the leading anti-virus programs, Symantec Endpoint, which is available to the entire university community," Vice Provost and Chief Information Officer Chris Wessells said. "In addition, USD uses Impulse Safe Connect as Network Access Control which helps prevent infected devices from being attached to the university's network."
Information Technology Services has seen decreased numbers of virus-infected computers in the past month, but as Zocher points out, computer viruses "usually come in waves." It only takes one USD account to be compromised before other accounts on campus become vulnerable, because emails sent through sandiego.edu are not automatically flagged as spam in the university system.
"Students who live on campus have free virus and spyware removal through the university, and those who live off campus are only charged $50," ITS Help Desk Student Lead Trevor Carson said. According to Zocher, the $50 charge is far less than what an outside computer help store would charge for the same services.
Students who come into ITS with a virus-infected computer can have scans and diagnostics run to clear the device of problems. According to Carson, when students come in with computers that have been the victim of phishing "they are given a tutorial about how to avoid this in the future and more scans are run." The tutorial helps members of the USD community become more aware of the tricks cyber criminals use to get personal information and account passwords.
During the month of October, ITS will be distributing promotional "phishing" snacks on campus to raise awareness about cyber secutiry. ITS has also developed a USD website dedicated to cyber security - sandiego.edu/its/security - where the campus community can go to learn more, access informational videos, run a free anti-virus program and even get a security checkup.
"I would strongly encourage students, faculty and staff to visit the website to learn more about how they can protect their personal information and university information," Wessells said.
Toward the end of the month there will be an opportunity to take a short quiz on the ITS website and enter to win a free large format poster printed by Instructional Media Services. This type of printing can cost up to $100 at outside printing locations.
ITS reminds all members of the USD community that IT employees will never ask for your password and requests to not share passwords with others.?
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