facebook twitter

Students need to be aware of phishing, spyware

Posted on Jan 23, 2008 in News

Share|

 

UAB will join others in recognizing October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance are leading this annual effort to increase people’s awareness and prevention of online security issues.
 

“We are hoping that NCSAM will allow us the chance to inform the student body and employees of different things to look out for and ways to protect themselves,” said Stephanie Gurley, data security coordinator at UAB.
 

“UAB is not immune to the bad things that are happening around us, so we need to be actively keeping our computers up to date, and we need to stay informed about new risks,” she said.
 

The two themes of NCSAM are phishing scams and spyware.
“Phishing is an e-mail which pretends to be from a brand that the student might do business with,” said Gary Warner, director of research in computer forensics at UAB. “The phishing e-mail contains a link to a fake version of the real brand’s Web site, and tries to get them to enter their login credentials or other personal or financial information so the criminal can steal from their accounts, or use the information to establish new accounts.”
 

Students should be alarmed when asked for personal information online.
“Students need to know that no reputable institution will ever request private information via e-mail,” said Gurley.
According to Warner, Spyware is malicious software which is secretly installed on a student’s computer. It watches the things which the computer owner does, and earns money for the criminal by displaying advertising for products related to the searches or interests of the computer owner.
 

Warner will be conducting the lecture “Social Computing: Stay Safe Online” in the Hill University Center Auditorium on Oct. 25 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m., and all UAB students are welcome to attend this event.
“We’ll talk about some of the risks that are particular to MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking sites, as well as sharing reminders about e-mail and chat tips that can help protect you from identity theft and online predators,” Warner said.
 

The following are some key things to keep in mind when you go online: protect your username and password, keep your anti-virus software current, log off/lock your machine when you are away, keep your operating system and application up to date on patches, do not click links in e-mails from unknown sources, and never provide personal information via e-mail.
 

UAB students should also remember that they can report any suspicious activity to the Data Security office (205-975-0842 or datasecurity@uab.edu).
 

Chris Green, data security specialist at UAB, said that students do not always update their computers with security patches, including software such as Real Player, iTunes/Quicktime, OS updates, and browser updates which often leaves them vulnerable to attacks by visiting malicious Web sites.
 

According to Green, UAB provides antivirus software for students available at www.uab.edu/it/software.
 

“Having hundreds of online friends is fun. Having a dozen people you really know might be safer,” Green said.
Students can visit www.uab.edu/it/securityawareness for further information.

E-MAIL: hac802@uab.edu