Though threats to cybersecurity bombard us in the news, imagine if a slip-up on your work computer takes down the entire Selkirk College system! It’s a real possibility.
Phishing
If you receive what you think is a phishing message, you can either:
Use the 'Report Phishing' button in the Outlook Client to report the email and automatically delete it. If you use Outlook on the Web, click on the Junk tab and then Phishing.
 |
|
|---|
- Submit an IT Services ticket an include the suspicious email as an attachment. An IT team member can view and access the email and follow up if necessary.
- Delete the email if you’re pretty sure it’s a phishing message and you don’t have time to deal with it.
Check with a friend or colleague first to see if they received the same email.
- Do not forward to any other email address.
- Do not forward to IT Helpdesk as a ticket. (Just use the Outlook "report phishing button".
- Do not open or click attachments or links.
1. The email is sent from a public domain.
No legitimate organization will send you an email from an address ending with '@gmail.com.' No! Not even Google.
Almost all organizations have their own email domain and company accounts from where they send out official messages. Therefore, before opening an email, ensure that the domain name (what follows after @) matches the sender. There is a catch, though. Hackers may try to mimic a real email. For example, if an address looks like 'paypal@notice-access-273.com', that is a red flag.
A genuine email from PayPal will have PayPal in the domain name, i.e., after the @ symbol.
2. The email requests your sensitive information.
If you receive an anonymous email asking for sensitive information, chances are it's a scam. No companies will send you an email requesting passwords, credit card data, SIN, nor will they send you a login link.
3. The email has terrible grammar.
Bad grammar is one of the easiest ways to recognize a phishing email. Because the legitimate ones are always well-written with no lousy syntax, they are often written by professional writers who exhaustively check for spelling before sending them out.
So, the next time you receive an email with strange phrases and poor language in the body of the message, it is most likely a phish.
4. The email has a suspicious attachment.
You should be alarmed if you receive an email containing an attachment from a company that you do not recognize or that you weren't expecting. A malicious URL or trojan may be included in the attachment.
It's good practice always to scan it using antivirus software first, even if you believe the attachment is real.
5. The message has made you panic.
Phishing emails are popular to incite fear in the recipient. The email can say that your account may have been compromised, and entering your login details is the only way to verify it. Alternatively, the email will state that your account will be closed if you do not respond immediately.
In any case, contact the company through other methods before committing any action.
6. The email says you have won a lottery.
So, you received an email about winning a lottery, gift cards, or some new gadgets, but you do not remember buying tickets for it—that's definitely a scam.
And when you open the message and click on a link, you will be redirected to a malicious website.
7. The email is from a government agency.
The government will never contact you directly. And most definitely, they won't engage in email-based harassment. Scammers send messages to victims claiming to be Revenue Canada or the RCMP demanding their personal information.
Revenue Canada sends direct official letters to home addresses and do not send you an email or call you until you receive an official letter.
Reply-Chain Attacks on Email
Reply-Chain attacks on emails with HTML attachments are on the rise in Post-Secondary Institutions.
Reply-chain email attacks are targeted phishing attacks in which the hackers gain access to ongoing business email thread conversations and plant disguised malicious links or attachments there.
Password Security
Email Security
Messages end up in quarantine because they were classified as malware, spam, phishing, or bulk. Users can review their quarantined messages within 30 days of the received date and chose if you want to block sender, release, review or delete the message. Click on the following link to view your quarantined messages: https://security.microsoft.com/quarantine
Phishing emails are more and more frequent these days, especially near the holidays. Hackers are very tricky and phishing emails can be hard to recognize. If you accidentally click on a link within a phishing email, do the following:
- Disconnect your device from the internet, close all programs and shut down your computer.
- Contact IT Services to report the incident.
Cybersecurity Myths
Cybersecurity is a highly technical process that only your IT department can handle.
The security tools that your IT department manages are important, but technology can only do so much. These security measures can’t stop an employee from sending sensitive information within an email. Creating a human firewall, made up of each and every employee, is essential to the security of your organization. Security is everyone’s responsibility.
High-tech hackers pose the highest threat to your organization.
You may imagine a cyberattack as the use of highly sophisticated technology to break down firewalls and decode user passwords. But in truth, it is much more likely that Dave wrote his password on a sticky note and it fell into the wrong hands. Human error is an easy target for cybercriminals, so stay alert!
High-tech hackers pose the highest threat to your organization.
You may imagine a cyberattack as the use of highly sophisticated technology to break down firewalls and decode user passwords. But in truth, it is much more likely that Dave wrote his password on a sticky note and it fell into the wrong hands. Human error is an easy target for cybercriminals, so stay alert!
Security awareness only really matters when you’re at work.
Your organization’s at-work policies and compliance regulations may not be necessary in your home life, but security awareness still matters. Scammers could phish your personal email for bank accounts, login credentials, or even personally identifiable information, which can be used to perform identity theft.
Smart devices are rarely targeted by cybercriminals.
Nearly everyone has a smartphone and many people use smart devices throughout their homes. From smart speakers to security cameras to lightbulbs, all of these gadgets connect to the internet. As these devices become the norm, cybercriminals happily accommodate. Treat smart devices the same way you would treat any other computer. Always use strong passwords, install antivirus and anti-malware software, and keep these devices up-to-date with the latest security patches.
