Stop the Gotcha's in a red circle, National Cyber Security Awareness Month in a yellow circle, Go CyBear Smart in a green circle

A Good Time to Become CyBear SMART

[National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) has come to a close but the need to stay CyBear SMART never ends. ISG hopes that the events as well as the tips & tools we presented during October helped make you and your computer more secure.

Though the month has ended, we'll continue to offer periodic Brown Bags and classes announced in Morning Mail. We're also leaving the weekly summaries and their links in place for your later reference.

Finally, congratulations to all the contest winners as well as everyone who participated in our events and online.

If you've had your day derailed by a computer virus, laptop theft or identity hack, then you know the havoc that these serious "gotcha's" can cause. Just recently, Wired magazine's tech-savvy Mat Honan disclosed the painful details of how he lost precious personal information, his Google account, control of his Twitter account and a lot of time trying to recover from a major hack. [ Mat's recounting of the story on Wired; related article from Infosecurity Magazine ] National Cyber Security Awareness Month -- to giving you the tips and tools to protect yourself from hackers, thieves, phishing, malware and more. We know you don't have a lot of time so have boiled it down to a simple message: STOP the Gotcha's -- GO CyBear SMART, which stands for:

  • S - Strong Passwords
  • M - Mobile Safety
  • A - Alert & Informed
  • R - Reputation Protection
  • T - Take Control

Each week during October we'll focus on each of these topics, offering both online and in-person opportunities to become more cyber secure. The more you participate, the more you learn PLUS the more chances you can collect toward prizes awarded at the end of the month for the CyBear SMART contest.

Throughout October ISG, will also tweet tips on the week's theme, and at the end of the week we'll offer a short quiz based on those tweets. Ace the quiz for 10 points. In fact, we'll give you points just for following us on Twitter Twitter logo. Attend a Brown Bag or Be Safe Brown! Campus Safety Resource Fair for more points (every ten points collected = one chance on the drawing).

Details for the month continue to evolve, so check back often for the latest information.

Strong PasswordsWeek #1 :: Strong Passwords

They're your first line of defense, whether protecting your laptop, phone or tablet; research records, salary info or grades; email, bank account or Facebook page.

A study by Microsoft on password habits showed that an average person will use the same password across almost 5.67 sites, that weak passwords are used at more sites on average (6.06), and stronger passwords at fewer sites on average (4.48), and then usually only when required. If complexity is not enforced, passwords containing only lowercase letters are predominate, regardless of password length. In other words, we as humans tend to take the easiest route. During this week, we will help you to become more aware of -- and hopefully to swap -- old habits for new ones.

» THE WEEK'S SCHEDULE

  • Oct 1 - 5: ISG kicks off the month with a focus on passwords, something you control and can easily improve. Sign up for our Twitter feed for 10 points.
  • Oct 1: Stop by the ISG booth at the "Be Safe Brown!" event. Play CyBear SMART" to collect 10 points toward the drawing.
  • Oct 3: Attend the lunchtime Brown Bag R U A 10+? and collect 10 more points, plus dessert is on us!
  • Oct 5 - 8: The quiz is no longer available.

» RESOURCES

Mobile SafetyWeek #2 :: Mobile Safety

This week we focus on helping you stay secure when on-the-go. Learn how to protect your laptop / tablet / smartphone, cultivate common sense habits to prevent big headaches, AND get two more chances on an iPad and more! Reminder: If you haven't started following us on Twitter, you can do so at twitter.com/ISGatBrown.

October is also National Crime Prevention Month. The Department Public Safety is holding safety and awareness events throughout the month, including a special push to have the Brown community register their laptops and tablets (as well as bicycles) as part of their Operation Identification. To have your items engraved and registered, please contact Crime Prevention at (401)863-1438 during normal business hours.

» THE WEEK'S SCHEDULE

  • Oct 9 - 12: Learn how to protect your mobile device, whether a laptop, tablet, smartphone or in between, and keep them safe when on the move.
  • Oct 11: Attend the lunchtime Brown Bag Love to Travel? Love Your Devices? pick up pointers and 10 points. Bring your lunch; we supply the cookies.
  • Oct 12 - 15: The quiz is no longer available.

» RESOURCES

Related event this week:

  • October 9, 6:45 PM - David Sherry will speak on The Evolution of the Information Security Management Function at the Providence Web Application Security Group. The event takes place in the new Continuing Education building at 200 Dyer Street in downtown Providence.

Alert & InformedWeek #3 :: Alert & Informed

You keep your computer patched, right? What about the most important CPU you own, the one between your ears?

When it comes to information security and safe computing, most experts agree that "the human is the weakest link." There is much talk about hacking the human (including a book with that name by Ian Mann and another called Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking by Christopher Hadnagy), which leads some in the field of information security to coin such terms as patching the human and the HumanOS. And like patches, they need to be applied regularly,or in other words, you need to keep alert and informed of threats and the risks they pose to stay protected. ISG provides many ways to keep current: our newsletter Secure IT!, periodic Brown Bags, malware and phishing alerts on the CIS blog, Morning Mail announcements, Twitter, and concerted efforts like National Cyber Security Awareness Month each year. Read on for more resources!

» THE WEEK'S SCHEDULE

  • Oct 15 - 19: The focus this week is on raising your level of awareness. We'll teach you how to fend off phish, spot scams, navigate safely online and more.
  • Oct 17: Attend the lunchtime Brown Bag In This Phishing Contest, Your Identity is the Trophy, which offers tips on how to sniff out phishing scams and keep your identity intact. More pointers and points and dessert.
  • Oct 19 - 11: The quiz is no longer available.

» RESOURCES

Reputation ProtectionWeek #4 :: Reputation Protection

Your public information may be scattered across the Internet but is now even easier to be reassemble into a digital footprint, thanks to a new application, Maltego, demonstrated at the recent Breakpoint 2012 Security Conference. Its owner, Paterva, describes it this way: "Information is leverage. Information is power. Information is Maltego."

If this makes you squirm a bit inside, then why not use that angst as a motivator to get a better grasp of your online life? Consider Facebook, for example. Ever wonder what your Facebook timeline looks like to others? Use the View As tool then tweak your timeline to your comfort level.

This week we highlight social media and how to balance being public while protecting your privacy. Read on for more tips, come to Wednesday's Brown Bag, follow us on Twitter (at twitter.com/ISGatBrown) and then take the quiz on Friday. You'll be safer and collect more chances on the big drawing!

» THE WEEK'S SCHEDULE

  • Oct 22 - 26: Your life is online. Is your reputation also "on the line?" What do you have to lose? Maybe a lot.
  • Oct 24: Attend the lunchtime Brown Bag Your Life Online (details below)
  • Oct 26 - 29: The quiz is no longer available.

» RESOURCES

Take ControlWeek #5 :: Take Control

In the end, you are responsible for your own safety. We wrap up the month by pulling it all together with a few final tips on how to be proactive when it comes to protecting you and your computer.

  • Get Physical: Protect your computer or device. Lock it up or safely stow it. Find a good case or sleeve to protect it. That amazing little piece of technology is powerful but also fragile.
  • Paper Trails: Your identity isn't just at risk online. Don't carry around your social security card or bank cards you don't need. Get a good cross-cut shredder and use it for confidential papers, whether at work or home. That includes any mail with your personal information.
  • Stay Current: Keep your OS, software and apps up to date, especially your security software. Make sure your setting will allow for automatic updates where possible, and when notified of the availability of updates (from reputable sources), install them.
  • Copy That: If your information resides locally on your desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone or flash drive and it's important to you, keep a spare copy. Memory is inexpensive so purchase an external hard drive or put it in the cloud, such as your Brown Google Drive.
  • Goodbye Gullible: Learn to maintain a certain sense of wariness, whether online or in person. Social engineers can strike by email, phone or on the street. Think of it like when you were told not to accept rides or candy from strangers.

» THE WEEK'S SCHEDULE

  • Nov 1: Month ends and contest winners are announced! The announcement of the contest winners was postponed until November 1st due to Brown closures on Monday and Tuesday.

» PRIZE WINNERS

Prize
Description
Winner
Grand
 iPad2 (16 GB / white) Alexx Temena
2nd
 Hitachi Touro External HD (2TB) Donovan Dennis
3rd
 Imation USB 2.0 HD (1TB) Neal Poole
4th
 Macally TriHub 7-Port Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Hub Ashley Frith
5th & 6th
 American Red Cross Crank Charger
(Flashlight & USB Cell Phone Charger)		 Dorothy Solomon & Lan Mei
7th
 Are You Naked Online? Protecting Your Internet Identity by Claypoole & Payton name withheld
8th
 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Mobile Device Was Hacked by R. Siciliano Serguei Treil
9th
 Gear Head 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub Srdan Beronja
10th, 11th
& 12th
 Skull Candy Earbuds Richard Shea, Paula Penelton & Dominic Rocco

 

National Cyber Security Awareness Month - October - staysafeonline.orgNational Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) is an annual awareness-raising effort that seeks to encourage everyone to protect themselves online as well as their nation's critical cyber infrastructure. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), are the champions and founders of NCSAM and work together during the month of October to increase general cyber security awareness.

ISG has brought NCSAM to Brown each October since 2005 with safe computing classes as well as online information, videos and quizzes that focus on phishing, identity theft, the hazards of social networking and secure wireless. Plans are in the works for this October's offerings, which will be announced in Morning Mail and on CIS's website in late summer.

This site will continue to be updated in preparation for ISG's October events, so check back often. In the meantime, we encourage you to watch the video "The Faces of Cybercrime" produced by StaySafeOnline.org.