Category Archives: @MiddInfoSec

@MiddInfoSec Phishing Alert: don’t fall for “Thammasat Great Journal, Thailand” scam email

Be on the alert for a suspicious email purportedly sent from “thammasat@goconnext.com” with the subject line “Thammasat Great Journal, Thailand“. This is a confirmed phishing message, designed to trick you into downloading a malicious file. Do not click on the links in the message or reply to the message. If you find a copy of the message in your inbox, please delete it. If you find a copy of this message in your spam quarantine, please ignore it and do not release it. The message will be deleted from your quarantine automatically in the next few days.

 For more information about phishing attacks, please visit http://go.middlebury.edu/phishing. For more information about the spam quarantine, please visit http://go.middlebury.edu/spam.

12122016-phish

@MiddInfoSec Phishing Alert: don’t fall for “Thammasat Great Journal, Thailand” scam email

Be on the alert for a suspicious email purportedly sent from “thammasat@goconnext.com” with the subject line “Thammasat Great Journal, Thailand“. This is a confirmed phishing message, designed to trick you into downloading a malicious file. Do not click on the links in the message or reply to the message. If you find a copy of the message in your inbox, please delete it. If you find a copy of this message in your spam quarantine, please ignore it and do not release it. The message will be deleted from your quarantine automatically in the next few days.

 For more information about phishing attacks, please visit http://go.middlebury.edu/phishing. For more information about the spam quarantine, please visit http://go.middlebury.edu/spam.

12122016-phish

Protect your Middlebury Account with Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication is a security technology that helps protect your Middlebury account from potential compromise by requiring the use of more than just a username and password to prove your identity during login.

mfa1

Learn more about how you can start using Multi-Factor Authentication today to better protect your Middlebury account at http://go.middlebury.edu/mfa.

@MiddInfoSec – Phishing Alert: don’t fall for “EMPLOYEE PAYROLL.” scam email

Be on the alert for a suspicious email purportedly sent from “SENDER” with the subject line ” EMPLOYEE PAYROLL.”. This is a confirmed phishing message, designed to trick you into divulging your username and password. If you find a copy of this message in your spam quarantine, please ignore it. If you find a copy of the message in your inbox, please delete it. If you find this message in your spam quarantine, do not release it. It will be deleted automatically in the next few days. Do not click on the links in the message or reply to the message.

 

For more information about phishing attacks, please visit http://go.middlebury.edu/phishing.  For more information about the spam quarantine, please visit http://go.middlebury.edu/spam.

11012016-phish1

@MiddInfoSec: “Middlebury College!” A Well Crafted Phishing Attack Looks to Come from the College

Warning! Over the past couple of days Middlebury College has been the target of a well-crafted  phishing campaign. Phishing messages are email messages designed to trick you into divulging your username and password. In this case, the phishing messages were written so that they looked like they were sent from Middlebury’s Department of Public Safety. An example of this phishing message is included below.

Middlebury’s email system was able to filter the vast majority of these phishing messages, delivering them into each recipient’s Spam Quarantines. Even with this protection, however, a few individuals released the messages from their quarantines, opened  the messages, and clicked on the phishing links therein.

Always use caution with quarantined messages. The quarantine is specifically designed to protect you from phishing attacks crafted to trick you into divulging your Middlebury account username and password.  If you have any questions about a quarantined message, contact the Help Desk or send a note to phishing@middlebury.edu. We would be glad to help.

Sample Phishing Message:

phish-1062016

For more information on phishing please visit http://go.middlebury.edu/phish. For additional details about spam filtering and the spam quarantine, please review Spam Filtering at Middlebury.

@MiddInfoSec: Keeping Your Password Secure

Did you know that most passwords are easily broken? A few “secrets” can help you make a stronger more memorable password.

Dos

  • Longer is better – use at least 8 characters with upper and lower case, numbers and symbols.
  • Create an easy-to-remember passphrase  with four or more words substituting special characters for some of the letters.
  • Use a unique password for each service or account.
  • Change your password or passphrase regularly:
  • Be sure you’re on the correct website before entering your password or passphrase
  • Set a password for access to your mobile device

Don’ts

  • Don’t include personal information such as usernames, account numbers, address or phone numbers in your password or passphrase.
  • Don’t reuse the same password for multiple services
  • Don’t use a single word, in any language
  • Don’t use consecutive repeating characters or a number sequence
  • Don’t share your password or passphrase – even with managers, co-workers or the Help Desk
  • Don’t send your passwords through email

Tools

@MiddInfoSec: Information Security’s ‘Security Scout of the Month’

To help raise awareness about community efforts to prevent significant security issues, Middlebury Information Security has launched a ‘Security Scout of the Month’ award.

This month Information Security would like to recognize Amy Dale who promptly and accurately responded to potential malware activity by unplugging her computer and reaching out to the Help Desk for immediate assistance.

When asked, Amy shared this advice about computer security, “My previous work experience, particularly at AOL, helped prepare me to be more alert and aware of scams. A previous manager always said, “when in doubt, leave it out.”  In other words, when you’re the least bit hesitant, then don’t open/click/download, etc. “

This astute awareness and keen insight is why Amy is this month’s ‘Security Scout of the Month’.

We are excited to celebrate the hard work and security conscious efforts of our community. Please watch for the next ‘Security Scout of the Month’ and help us recognize these efforts.

If you would like to recognize an individual for their information security contributions or would like to raise an information security concern, please contact infosec@middlebury.edu.

@MiddInfoSec: Stay Safe and Secure when Online

When you are reading e-mail or browsing online, be on the lookout for suspicious links and deceptive web pages, which are major sources of malware. Also be careful of downloadable files since they can introduce malware. And remember that additional browser plugins and unused applications require additional patching to remain secure. Here are some suggestions to make your day-to-day computing more productive, safe, and secure.

  • Keep your software up-to-date. Be sure to install antivirus updates and regularly check for and install updates for any applications or browser plugins you may run on your computer. (e.g., Adobe Flash and Java)
  • Be more secure! Don’t enter sensitive or personal information into a URL unless you have verified the address and you have ensured its security by checking that it includes HTTPS.
  • When in doubt, ignore. Don’t click on pop-up windows or extraneous ads. And, don’t click on links in emails or web sites until you have verified their destinations by hovering your mouse over the link.
  • Keep your private information safe. Use a strong, unique password or passphrase for each account, and avoid storing account information on a website. And consider using a digital password wallet such as 1Password or LastPass to secure your passwords.
  • Segregate your browsing activities. Consider using separate browsers for sensitive logins and general web browsing.
  • Use private networks for sensitive transactions. Avoid checking your bank account, making purchases, or logging in to other websites that include sensitive information when using public Wi-Fi.

Go stealth when browsing. Your browser can store quite a bit of information about your online activities, including cookies, cached pages, and history. To ensure the privacy of personal information online, limit access by going “incognito” and using the browser’s private mode.

@MiddInfoSec: Don’t Get Hooked

You may not realize it, but you are a phishing target at school, at work, and at home. Phishing attacks are a type of computer attack that use malicious emails to trick targets into giving up sensitive information. Ultimately, you are the most effective way to detect and stop phishing scams. When viewing email messages, texts, or social media posts, use the following techniques to prevent your passwords, personal data, or private information from being stolen by a phishing attack.

  • Verify the source. Check the sender’s email address to make sure it’s legitimate. Remember that the name of the sender is not the important part. The sender’s email address is what you are really looking for. If in doubt, forward your message to phishing@middlebury.edu.
  • Read the entire message carefully. Phishing messages may include a formal salutation, overly-friendly tone, grammatical errors, urgent requests, or gimmicks that do not match the normal tone of the sender.
  • Avoid clicking on erroneous links. Even if you know the sender, be cautious of links and attachments in messages. Don’t click on links that could direct you to a bad website. Hovering your mouse over a link should disclose the actual web address that the link is directing you too, which may be different from what is displayed in the message. Make sure this masked address is a site you want to visit.
  • Verify the intent of all attachments with the sender before opening them. Even when you know a sender, you should never open an attachment unless have checked with the sender to verify the attachment was sent intentionally. Word and Excel documents can contain malicious macros which could harm your computer. Other files, such as zip files and PDF files, could download malware onto your system. Always verify the intent of attachments with the sender before you open them from an email.
  • Verifying a message is always better than responding to a phish. If you ever receive a message that provides reason to pause, it is always better to forward the message to phishing@middlebury.edu or to send a separate email to the sender to verify its intent, before clicking a link or opening an attachment that could potentially impact the security of your computer..
  • Change your passwords if you have fallen for a phish. If you think you have fallen for a phishing attack, change your password at go/password and then contact the helpdesk at x2200. It is also a good practice to change your personal passwords outside of the College.

 

Watch for phishing scams. Common phishing scams are published at sites such as http://IC3.gov , http://phishing.org ,https://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing. These resources will also allow you to report phishing attacks if you should fall victim outside of the College. Again, if you think you have fallen victim to a phishing attack, always start by changing your passwords.

@MiddInfoSec: Phishing Alert – – “Update Announcements”

A phishing email message was sent to @middlebury.edu mailboxes today with a subject line of “Update Announcements”.  DO NOT RESPOND ON THIS MESSAGE!

The phishing email message is an attack designed to trick people into disclosing their username and password.  Do NOT follow the instructions in the message, as it could lead to your Middlebury account being compromised.

If you were tricked by the email and responded,  reset your network password immediately at go/password and then call the Helpdesk at x2200 for further assistance with your account and any possible concerns with your computer.

Here’s a sample of the phishing email message:

Dear middlebury.edu User.

Urgent Update Announcements.

Your middlebury.edu Account has been Sign in with a strange IP Address: And this indicate your mail account is been used for FRAUDULENT ACT, For these reasons, Our records indicate you are no longer our current/active user. Therefore, your account has been scheduled for deletion on this Month of APRIL, 2016. As part of this process, your account, files, email address messages etc, will be deleted from our Data Base.

To Retail Your Account.

You are required to reply with your valid ONLINE ACCESS for reactivation, to ensure Your account remains active and subscribed, Otherwise this account will be De-activated within the next 72 hours hence from now.

Name In Full:

User Name:

Pass Word:

@middlebury.edu

Thank You.