CIO'S MESSAGE - October 6, 2020 (Employees)

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
CSULB Email Security News

Dear Colleagues,

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month! This year’s theme is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” This month is about highlighting ways we can all improve our security hygiene and keep cybersecure.

To kick things off, we have a few new announcements about email safety and phishing.

New Email Security Features on Friday

On October 9, the Division of IT (DoIT) will implement Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service as part of our ongoing cybersecurity initiative to protect CSULB’s network, infrastructure, and devices from malware and unsafe links, such as those that appear in prevalent phishing scam emails. ATP will provide a two-part protection – Safe Links and Safe Attachments.

1. A “Safe Links” feature will analyze and scan your incoming email for potentially unsafe web links, clickable images or text. As a result, you will not see the original web address by hovering over the hyperlinks. Instead, you will see an extensive “safe link” formatted link. If you click on a known unsafe link, you will see an image like below, prohibiting you from proceeding

    

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2. A “Safe Attachments” feature will provide an extra level of defense by checking your incoming email message attachments for malware and viruses that have already been scanned by existing anti-malware protection. If an attachment is found to contain malicious content, the email will not be delivered to you.

Simulated Phishing Campaign

To raise the awareness of phishing scams and attacks, DoIT will periodically send simulated phishing emails to employees and provide appropriate training accordingly.  More information will be announced in the coming weeks.

Information Security is Everyone’s Responsibility

DoIT strives to improve our security measures by implementing appropriate tools and technology.  The reality is that information security is no longer just a technical issue; it also requires people’s awareness of information security risks.  The human factor, YOU, is, and remains, our first line of defense!  We rely on each and every member of our campus community to play an active role in protecting our information, reporting suspicious activity timely, and empowering each other to learn to do the right thing.  Let us continue the partnership and work on establishing and sustaining a culture of security.  We are here to keep you informed and help you navigate the new normal of cybersecurity. “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.”

Additional Resources

• Report suspicious email to alert@csulb.edu
• Beware of Email Phishing Scams

Next week, we will cover the topic of “If you connect it, protect it.”

Cuc Du
Information Security Officer