OCTOBER IS CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH October is

OCTOBER IS CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month Our Cyber Security Awareness Campaign focuses on topics such as identity theft, social networking (Facebook, Twitter), desktop security, portable devices, spyware, safeguarding passwords and protecting confidential University information.

What is cyber security? Everyone relies on computers and the internet now – Communication (e-mail, cell phones), Entertainment (mp 3 s, digital cable), Shopping (online stores, credit cards), Finances (online banking) Cyber security involves protecting that information by preventing, detecting, and responding to attacks.

Safeguard Topics Passwords Protecting Workstation Protecting Portable Devices Identity Theft Acceptable Use Policy

Passwords Use Strong Passwords All passwords must be at least 8 characters in length. All passwords must contain at least one number (0 -9) or special character (~, !, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, ), -, =, +, ? , [, ], {, }). All passwords must differ from a person’s username. All passwords must contain at least one upper case letter (A-Z). All passwords must contain at least one lower case letter (a-z).

Passwords Cont. Passwords should NOT contain: Personal Information (name, nickname, pet’s name, child’s name, birth date, etc. ) Keyboard patterns (qwerty or asdfg) Sequential numbers (12345) or letters (adcdef) Words associated with your school or place of business (UST, Celts) Blank Spaces

Passwords Cont. Create a strong, memorable password Use a sentence or phrase only you know. Ex. “I Always Eat Burgers on Saturday at the Park”. Use the first letters of the sentence. Ex. “iaebosatp” Substitute numbers and special characters for some of the letters. Example: “! @lways Eat burgers 0 n $aturday @t the Park” would become “!@Eb 0$@t. P”

Password Cont. Secure your Password Do not share passwords with anyone Do not post them or write down them down Do not send passwords via e-mail or instant messenger Always change default passwords Change passwords every 120 days Do not use the same password for entertainment sites (Facebook) and critical sites (Bank of America, my. St. Thom)

Protecting Workstations Is confidential information available to others? Is your screen saver password protected? For Is Windows users Right click on a blank part of the Windows Desktop area Choose “Properties” then “Screensaver” Tab Select a screensaver (from the drop down list) Click on “On Resume, Password Protect” your computer locked when unattended? Hold the “Flying Window” key & “L” Key OR “Ctrl” “Alt” “Del”

Protecting Workstations Cont. Keep patches updated Keep anti-virus and spyware software updated Make data backups of important files and folders Backup information to different media (CDs, thumb drive/USB stick, External Hard Drive) Store department data on Vincent the backup data in a separate, secure location Be aware of any confidential information stored on thumb drive/USB stick or external hard drive

Protecting Workstations Cont. Safeguard data E-mail and instant messenger Do not send confidential or sensitive information, i. e. social security numbers or student ID numbers through e-mail or instant messenger. Do not open a message or an attachment from unknown senders. Use caution when discarding electronic and physical student data

Protecting Portable Devices Ways to protect your portable devices (pda, blackberry, iphone, & laptops) Data security Password-protect portable devices Keep software up to date Install and maintain anti-virus and spyware software Store important data separately Do not follow links sent in e-mail or text messages Backup files Disable remote connectivity (Bluetooth)

Protecting Portable Devices Cont. Ways to protect portable devices – Physical security Password-protect portable devices Be discreet with portable devices Keep portable devices with you at all times Backup files Consider a lock for laptops

Identity Theft! Don’t get Phooled with Phishing!! Phishing is a scam in which legitimateappearing e-mails are sent out to unsuspecting users in attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, or social security numbers by masquerading as trustworthy sites.

Don’t get Phooled with Phishing!! Protect yourself from phishing scams Do not respond to suspicious or “phishy” e-mails Do not click on links within the “phishy” e-mails Check the legitimacy of the links Do not enter personal or financial information Schools, banks, or other legitimate institutions will NEVER request personal information via e-mail or phone!!

Acceptable User Policy The user is responsible for correct and sufficient use of the tools available for maintaining the security, privacy and integrity of data. University personnel should exercise diligence in the physical security of all technological resources assigned to them. Policy location www. stthom. edu/it Security & Protection

Questions? For additional information www. stthom. edu/itsecurity