Week 5 - Internet of Things (IoT) at Home

How many devices to you have connected to your Internet connection at your house?  Can you name them all?  While these devices bring a great deal of convenience, they also bring associated risk.  Here is a list of things you can do to better secure your IoT devices.

·         Know what’s connected to your network.

·         Make sure your home wireless is encrypted using a strong password.

·         Make sure anti-virus/anti-malware software is installed on all of your computers, tablets, and smartphones. 

·         Change the default credentials and don’t use common words or passwords that are unique. 

·         Keep your smartphone secure.  Does your phone lock when not in use?  If not, consider adding a PIN, pattern, password, or face unlock.

·         Regularly update your software.

·         Use caution when using social sharing/geolocation.

·         Disable any features you don’t need.  If you don’t have any Bluetooth devices then turn off Bluetooth on your devices.

Week 5 – Prize Registration

Week 4 – Google Phishing Quiz

Nearly one-third of all data breaches in 2018 involved a phishing email.  Columbia College has an anti-spam solution which blocks tons of spam/malware/phishing emails, but even with the best solution some phishing emails may still get through.  Google’s technology incubator, Jigsaw, has released a phishing quiz which you can take to see if you can spot the phish.

Google Phishing Email Quiz (will open up in a new window)

After you have taken the phishing quiz, be sure to enter your email address to get registered to win a prize.

Week 4 - prize registration (will open up in a new window)

Week 3 - What's Wrong with My Desk?

For October Security Awareness Month, the week 3 security awareness activity is  "What's Wrong With My Desk?"  Keeping a clean desk and clear screen at work is important to protecting confidential information. Please click on the link below to see pictures of a desk and note all of the security risks.  If you find that the pictures are too small, please use the zoom feature in your PDF viewer.  Once you have a list, you can submit your answers using the second link below.

• Desk Pictures (will open up in a new window)

• Submit Answers and Register for a Prize (will open up in a new window)

Week 2 - Best Practices for Storing Columbia College Files

Where do you store your files?  Do you store files on your desktop?  What would happen if your computer’s hard drive went bad?  What would happen if your computer was infected with ransomware and you couldn’t access any of your files?  What would happen if your Columbia College laptop was lost/stolen and you had files on it needed for your job?

Do you know about the Columbia College i:\ drive?

The i:\ drive is a personal network drive which only you have access to. The i:\ drive is also backed up, so in the event your computer hard drive dies, CC laptop is stolen, computer is infected with ransomware, etc. files can be restored.

Example uses of Network Storage (my I:\) drive:

• Store documents/files
• Access files at different computers (ie. Another office, classroom, computer lab, etc)

Examples of how not to use Network Storage (my I:\) drive:

•  Do not store program installers that you have downloaded.
• Do not store personal media of large file types such as pictures, audio, or movie files.

• NOTE: the i:\ drive is only accessible on the Columbia College network.  If you are working at home using a Columbia College laptop and need to access your i:\ drive files, you will need to be connected to the Columbia College VPN in order to access your i:\ drive files.

If you do not see your network home drive mapped under My Computer, try these steps.

1. Check the magnifying button.
2. In the search box, type \\ccis.edu\homecampus\Home\youruserid
3. Hit enter
4. If this does not open your home directory, please contact the Technology Solutions Center at CCHelpDesk@ccis.edu or at 573-875-7495.

For more information, please see the Acceptable Computing Use Policy.

http://www.ccis.edu/policies/acceptable-computing-use-policy.aspx

If you currently use the i:\ drive or if you are going to start using the i:\ drive to store files after reading this security awareness tech tip, then please enter your name and email address on the Google form linked below to be registered for your chance to win a prize.

Week 2 - prize registration

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month!  

Join Technology Services and the National Cyber Security Alliance in celebrating the 16th year of National Cyber Security Awareness Month!

Cybersecurity begins with a simple message that everyone using the internet can adopt:

STOP. THINK. CONNECT.

Take security and safety precautions, understand the consequences of actions online, and enjoy the benefits of the internet!  Throughout October, Technology Services will offer interactive educational activities to help you achieve those goals—for each activity you complete, you will be entered into a drawing at the end of the month!

For Week 1 we have a list of questions for you to attempt. Please follow the link below and make sure to enter your email address at the bottom to be registered for your chance to win!

2019 October Security Awareness Questionnaire

2019 could be a record-breaking year for data breaches

https://securityboulevard.com/2019/09/2019-could-be-a-record-breaking-year-for-data-breaches/

According to Risk Based Security’s 2019 Midyear Quickview Data Breach Report, there have been 3,813 separate data breaches reported through June — exposing about 4.1 billion records. That’s a 54% increase in data breaches and 52% increase in exposed records over the same period in 2018.

Of the organizations that suffered a breach and could be clearly classified, those in the business sector accounted for 67% of breaches, followed by medical (14%), government (12%) and education (7%).

The web remains the primary vector of exposed records, accounting for 79% of compromised records, the report states. Hacking remains the number one cause of data breach incidents, accounting for 82% of those reported. “Email addresses and passwords remain prized targets, with email addresses exposed in approximately 70% of reported breaches and passwords exposed in approximately 65% of reported breaches,” the report stated.

Attacks continue to focus on user credentials. And that’s for good

reason: it works. Reams of login credentials are made available every day on the dark web. According to the report, such activity has increased in recent months.

While the report shows that there are more external data attacks, when insiders attack, they tend to expose more sensitive data. “The vast majority of incidents are attributable to malicious actors outside of the organization, yet more and more sensitive data is exposed when insiders fail to properly handle or secure information. Case in point:

misconfigured databases and services – 149 of the 3,813 incidents reported this year – exposed over 3.2 billion records,” the report found.

“Attackers have taken notice. The practice of targeting open, unsecured databases to either steal data or hold it for ransom has ebbed and flowed over the past 2 years,” the report continued.

As the report said, the first six-months of 2019 were among the worst ever when it came to raw data breach numbers, and there’s little to be optimistic about. “The number of breaches is up and the number of records exposed remains stubbornly high. What is clear is that despite the awareness of the issue among business leaders and the best efforts of defenders, data breaches continue to take place at an alarming rate,” the report says.

Such reports could be much different if organizations that hold large amounts of data focused more on securing that data and if there was a bigger focus on two-factor authentication. According to the report, passwords accounted for 64% of all exposed data, and more than 3.2 billion records (80% of the total) were exposed in just eight of the data breaches.