October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). The Office of Information Security in the Office of Technology Services (OTS) always encourages campus participation in promoting a safer, more secure and more trusted internet, but is especially focusing on efforts throughout this month.
This week’s NCSAM theme is Recognizing and Combating Cybercrime, and focuses on different types of online crime and offers steps for protecting yourself. Cyber scams, such as phishing or malicious links, are embedded with malware and/or viruses, can trick faculty, staff and students into infecting their own computers. According to a 2015 Identity Guard article, college students are five times more likely to become victims of identity theft compared to the general public. Cyber manipulation is a crime which preys on the uninformed, so the Office of Information Security encourages the campus to take the time to heighten security awareness.
Learn how to Recognize Cybercrime
- Check out NCSAM’s infographic to learn the costs of cybercrime and how to recognize it.
- Follow the Office of Information Security on Twitter@TowsonInfoSec.
- Sign up for scam alerts from the federal government, and learn how to report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.
- Learn about identity theft and personally identifiable information (PII).
Steps to Combat Cybercrime
- Never supply personal or identifying information, such as addresses or Social Security numbers, online.
- Open a new browser to log into accounts – embedded links could capture your information and maliciously use it at a later date.
- Forward all suspicious emails to phishing@towson.edu.
- Faculty and staff noticing unusual or suspicious activity on their computers should report it to the OTS Faculty/Staff Help Center.
- Students suspecting that their device has a virus can have it checked at Student Computing Services.
Join OTS’ Office of Information Security for TU’s first Cyber Security Event on October 31! For event schedule and details visit www.towson.edu/securityawareness.
