Security Street Smarts – Staying Safe on Campus
We all know that moving onto a major college campus comes with not only lots of new and exciting
opportunities but with some new challenges as well! Every campus has its own flavor, and while
there are many staff and community members dedicated to making your experience at Brown as productive
and successful as possible, there are certainly hazards as well. And no matter how safe and secure
we think things are, there are some common risks associated with any campus that you should be aware of.
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October is National Cyber Security
Awareness Month
 Safe and secure computing is a year round endeavor, but in October we make a special effort to get the word out.
As in past years, we join with the National Cyber Security Alliance (www.staysafeonline.org) during the month to remind you of the dangers that lurk in cyber space and what you can do to protect yourself and your computer.
 Each week we will focus on a different topic, such as identity theft or malware threats. Our mascot, Cy Bear, will offer tips and information about the week's online quiz and the fabulous prizes you could win.
Visit our Cyber Security Awareness Month site for more details.
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Meet CIS's new VP, Michael Pickett
 For this edition, we step back from the security front lines and profile Michael P. Pickett, CIS's new Vice President and CIO.
Pickett, who started at CIS on July 1st, comes to Brown after a 24-year association with Duke University, most recently as its Deputy Chief Information Officer. He began work there in 1983 as a systems coordinator in the Duke Medical Center, leading the team that created and supported the medical center’s first local area network (LAN).
He continued his involvement with workstation and network development, creating distributed client server applications in a variety of administrative and clinical areas. In 1992 he was appointed Associate Chief Information Officer, becoming part of a senior leadership team that created the campus-wide Office of Information Technology.
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A Security Myth
Myth: If I don't open any attachments, my computer won't get infected.
Truth: Modern email messages consist of more than just a text message
and the occasional attachment. Email messages are often composed
in HTML. That makes the message a webpage, complete with graphics,
pictures, links, and scripts. Those eye-pleasing graphics and pictures
can camouflage all manner of nasties, and clicking on the embedded
links can take you on a phishing trip or tempt you to download malware,
and invisible scripts can unleash their mischief as soon as you open
the email. And the attachment? That's just the sucker punch!
What to do: Always use high-quality, anti-virus software and keep
it up-to-date. Apply patches and updates regularly and promptly. If you use Outlook, activate the Junk E-mail Filter,
which also provides protection against phishing emails.
More information: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP052429671033.aspx
Republished with permission from OUCH!
SANS Institute Security Newsletter for Computer Users, v4 #3
Check out the "Protecting Brown Information"
class schedule at training.brown.edu. |