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Information Security
Article Archive #2
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Importance of Security
Information security is about addressing and reducing IT RISK. It’s easy to overlook risk as a topic when all you hear is talk about passwords, firewalls, encryption, policies, or two-factor authentication. In this section, you’ll read about how the university is at risk and what you can do to reduce the risk in your group, department, and college.
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Can You Identify a Phishing Website?
A phishing website is a malicious site designed to steal sensitive information such as login credentials, credit card numbers, and other personal data. These websites often mimic legitimate sites to trick users into interacting with the website. Recognizing the signs of a phishing website and knowing how to protect yourself can help prevent identity theft…
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Can You Identify a Phishing Email?
Phishing emails are a common tactic used by cybercriminals to steal personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive data. Understanding and identifying these malicious emails can help protect you from falling prey to scams and potential security breaches. What is a Phishing Email? A phishing email is a fraudulent message that…
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Passwords, Passwords Everywhere!
Did you know that the average person uses the same three to seven passwords to log in to over 170 online accounts? In addition to being reused, these passwords are often weak and easily guessed by cybercriminals. If cybercriminals successfully guess these weak passwords, they can access most of their victims’ online accounts. Even worse,…
Scam Types
Scams used to be easier to detect without worry. A Nigerian prince asks for a few hundred dollars to give you access to his fortune. But those days are gone, and scammers are in a constant arms race with cybersecurity for your sensitive information. Learn about the different types of scams and how to deal with them.
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Pretexting
Now more than ever, cybercriminals are using a tactic known as pretexting to catch you off guard. Pretexting is when a cybercriminal impersonates a real person and asks you for help with a fake scenario. They often carry on a conversation with you and use public information to convince you that they are who they…
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Permission to Hack
Malware researchers recently discovered a trojan app on the Google Play Store. Trojans are malicious applications or software that appear legitimate. Thousands of users downloaded this app before knowing it was malicious. So, it’s important to learn how to spot malicious apps. In this scam, cybercriminals uploaded a malicious screen recording app on the Google…
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PayPal Payment Ploy
Recently, cybercriminals have taken advantage of the popular (and international) online payment platform, PayPal. Cybercriminals are spoofing PayPal to try and steal your personal or financial information. Cybercriminals in this PayPal ploy send you a phishing email saying that one of your payments didn’t process and that you must act fast. The email contains a…
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Smishing for Bank Information
A smishing attack(a phishing attack through SMS, or “text” messaging) was recently used by a ring of cybercriminals to steal credit card information. The cybercriminals used this stolen bank information to purchase cryptocurrency (BITCOIN) that they then exchanged for cash. Cybercriminals sent SMS messages pretending to be a bank. The message says that a security…
Benefits & Tips for You
In this section, you can learn about all the different tools available to you at UT, such as secure file sharing and monitoring your systems. We will also share best practices for staying secure at school and at home.
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Tips for Securing macOS
It’s no surprise that macOS is the second-biggest operating system worldwide. Apple has a well-regulated array of computers available for consumers that merge many strengths of the whole Apple ecosystem. However, this doesn’t mean that you should not take any steps to help secure your macOS computer. Securing your Apple computer involves several steps to…
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MFA + Strong Passwords: Your Best Defense Against Account Attacks
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection to your accounts by requiring more than just a password to sign in. Even if a password is stolen through phishing, malware, or a data breach, MFA can still prevent an attacker from accessing your account. This additional safeguard is especially important because passwords can be…
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Find Out If Your Data Was Exposed in a Breach
Data breaches continue to affect major organizations, and recent reporting has linked the ShinyHunters extortion group to incidents involving Charter Communications, a company with services branded as Spectrum. A simple way to check whether your email address appears in a known breach data is to use Have I Been Pwned at haveibeenpwned.com. This site lets you search your…
Protecting University Data
Discover essential articles on cybersecurity practices specifically tailored for the University of Tennessee. Learn effective strategies to safeguard sensitive information, defend against threats, and maintain data integrity. Equip yourself with knowledge to protect your university’s digital ecosystem.
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Look, No Hands—Let OIT Continuously Monitor Your Systems
One of the responsibilities of every user of UT’s IT resources is to continuously monitor their UT Owned workstations, laptops, and servers. What does that even mean? HOW? WHO? Who does ANYTHING continuously? These two words, continuous monitoring,” would imply that you (or somebody) should be looking at a computer(s) 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Thankfully, this…
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Plans and Programs and Controls, Oh My!
Information security conversations often include words like “IT security plans,” “systems,” and “program plans.” What do these terms mean in the context of cyber security, and why should we care? Three reasons WHY we are talking about cyber security: Human Resource (HR) or Fiscal (FI) policies provide a governance structure for conducting university business, the…
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File Sharing Options for Sensitive Information
We regularly receive questions about sharing or storing sensitive information. While we have several recommendations, first, let’s talk about why you should be concerned about how you share or store sensitive information. ALL users are responsible for ensuring that their use of sensitive information services complies with laws, regulations, and policies where applicable; it is EVERYONE’s responsibility.…