Office of Information Technology
Date September 20, 2023
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Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023

By Pat Falcon

OIT reminds you that October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a great time to pick up new tools and strategies as well as hone your cyber defenses against online threats like phishing and social engineering -- an ongoing threat.

Start the Month with a Short Video

Two bulls looking at object in a lake labeled email. One says "Invoice"

The animated film Phishing Attack tells the story of two bulls and their difference of opinion on the email that has transfixed their gaze. Is it an invoice? Or maybe a virus? Which one is correct? Who took the proper action? What's your take-away? And where do you find yourself in the story?

Watch this 40 second timely tale to find out.

 


Image of line drawing of fish swimming in a bowlWho's Pressing Your Buttons?

OIT invites you to enroll in Secure IT: Phishing 101 (accessed through Workday Learning) to learn about the emotional buttons that social engineers (AKA con artists or scammers) press to get a desired reaction from their victims.

In five short modules, we remind you of the commonsense skills you have and how to be ready to spot and stop the scammers in their tracks. The course includes an overview of social engineering, two sixty-second summaries (common cons and popular phishing ploys), plus two interactive mini-games to tag the tricksters and spot the phish.

 

Scamming the Scammer

Screenshot of James Veitch standing in front of a white background with the words From: China Jewellery Corporation, To: James Veitch, Greetings candidate, we found your CV in the internet.Watch standup comic James Veitch's Scamalot video: China Jewellry Corporation, in which he is offered the position of regional manager.

The video is one of the "Scamalot" series that James produced in 2021 based on the premise "Ever wondered what would happen if you replied to scammers?" (Note: We recommend leaving this to the professionals.) 

 

Image of a shrimp with atomic rings criss-crossing itAnother Scam-baiter Offers Commonsense Tips on Avoiding a Scam

The "Atomic Shrimp" YouTuber Mike is known for his years of scambaiting (as well as cooking and forgaging) videos. In this one he poses the 6 1/2 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Clicking Email Links & Attachments. And while it boils down to a blend of mindfulness and commonsense (as so many things in life do), you can't go wrong if you always keep one or two of these in mind.

 

Explore Further and Deeper

We also recommend the following LinkedInLearning courses, accessed via Workday.

  • Cybersecurity at Work (2023)
    Instructor Caroline Wong focuses on a variety of risks -- the security of wireless, software and internet, hybrid work, and data security, plus social engineering scams and attacks -- detailing the threats and what you can do to protect you and Brown from them.
  • The Cybersecurity Threat Landscape (2022)
    One hour course (with chapter quizzes) covering: malware and ransomware, phishing and smishing, business email compromise, botnets and DDoS attacks, deepfakes, insider threats, unmanaged IoT devices, shadow IT, and supply chain attacks and third-party risks.
  • Securing Your Home Office (2020)
    Host Scott Simpson covers how to secure your home office, with tips for keeping work and personal hardware separate, your home office physically secure, your audio and video private, and mobile devices secure.

Logo for Cybersecurity Awareness Month
OIT is an official Champion of #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth.
Learn more at https://staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month