In fact, millions of emails are sent every second around the world filled with personal information, providing a rich source of information for cyber criminals.

What are the risks?

Email is one of the easiest ways for cyber criminals to target ordinary citizens. So, as with anything in life, if something seems suspicious, go with your instincts.

A good rule of thumb is to automatically delete anything that looks out of the ordinary. If the email was actually from someone you know, they’ll either try again or find another way to get in touch with you.

Here are a few risks to always be aware of when it comes to your email:

• A weak email account password could leave your personal information vulnerable. A weak password is a cyber criminal’s best friend so it’s essential to .
•  may be sent as an attachment in an email and allow criminals access to your information.
•  can spread through email to your entire contact list without you knowing it.
•  can trick you into opening attachments or giving up personal information. They appear to be emails from organizations or companies you trust, but they’re often the gateway to identity theft.
•  can get through your filter and inundate you with unsolicited email.
• �۴dzܰ��� through email in a number of ways.

Find out how to .

The above notice is from the Government of Canada’s Get Cyber Safe campaign, in support of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Portable storage devices – USBs, memory cards, removable or external hard drives and CDs/DVDs, Smartphones, tablets, iPods – connect to a computer and provide file storage and should be used with caution.

Here are some things to keep in mind when using portable storage devices:

• They can be easily lost or stolen.
• Confidential information should never be stored on portable media unless it is protected from unauthorized access.
• All confidential information should be stored on an encrypted secure storage media devices.
• “Encrypted USB thumb drives” are available from ITS Hardware Services at ext. 4063.
• Network drives should be used to store confidential student data, financial data, health records and research data.
• If sensitive or personal information is stored on a portable storage device and it’s lost or stolen, this could lead to significant security and privacy concerns.

If you believe that there has been a breach of confidential information on portable media, please contact the ITS Service Desk at ext. 3700 immediately.

If you use a portable storage device:

• Do not use portable storage media for university information that is not otherwise publicly available.
• Do not leave storage devices unattended and lock them in a secure area.
• Remove confidential data from mobile devices once it is no longer needed for valid business purposes.
• Please ensure that university-provided portable device(s) are returned to ITS for disposal when they are no longer required.

If you receive an email from an address you don’t recognize, your first thought should be: is this email legitimate?  But know that malicious emails can also come from an address that you do recognize – perhaps their account got hacked and is now being used to spam people.

How to Recognize a Phishing Email and What To Do If You Get One

It’s important to be able to recognize a phishing attempt and, most importantly, not be baited.

There’s a good chance an email is a phishing attempt if:

• It asks you for your password or directs you to a web form asking for your password
• If the link within the body of the message points to a non-�Ӱ�ԭ�� email address
• The subject line is in all caps
• There is a call for immediate action – “download this now” or “confirm you email identity now” or “click on the link below”
• There are spelling or grammatical errors in the email

If you receive a phishing email do not respond to it, move it to your junk folder (this will mark it as spam), and forward it to the ITS Service Desk.

We then flag the email in the Office 365 filter system, which then marks it as spam for other users.  If the phishing email contains a link to a website, we report that website to Google and the web host (if available).

IT Security: Our Shared Responsibility

We all have a key role to play in keeping our home computers and personal devices secure online. We also play a big part in keeping our businesses safe from cyber threats.  To learn more about Cyber Security Awareness Month, check out the and the websites.

In fact, millions of emails are sent every second around the world filled with personal information, providing a rich source of information for cyber criminals.

What are the risks?

Email is one of the easiest ways for cyber criminals to target ordinary citizens. So, as with anything in life, if something seems suspicious, go with your instincts.

A good rule of thumb is to automatically delete anything that looks out of the ordinary. If the email was actually from someone you know, they’ll either try again or find another way to get in touch with you.

Here are a few risks to always be aware of when it comes to your email:

• A weak email account password could leave your personal information vulnerable.
•  may be sent as an attachment in an email and allow criminals access to your information.
•  can spread through email to your entire contact list without you knowing it.
•  can trick you into opening attachments or giving up personal information. They appear to be emails from organizations or companies you trust, but they’re often the gateway to identity theft.
•  can get through your filter and inundate you with unsolicited email.
• �۴dzܰ��� through email in a number of ways.

Find out how to .

The above notice is from the , in support of .

Here are some tips to help you protect your personal information:

• Limit the amount of personal information you post on social media.
• Do not assume that email is private.
• Limit the amount of personal information (such as SIN, credit card numbers, banking information, drivers license number, etc.) you store on your computer. If your computer is lost or stolen this can be valuable information.
• Log off, lock your screen, or use a password-activated screensavers when stepping away from your computer.

Read more from our Information Security group.

At �Ӱ�ԭ��, over the past four months we have seen a 46% increase in spam and emails with malicious attachments and last month over 80% of email messages coming into our email gateway were blocked by our spam blockers.

Much of the malicious code that is flagged is in the form of phishing (attempts to get personal information from you, such as your password), malware (viruses that can infect your computer and files), and ransomware (software that denies you access to your computer or files by encrypting files on your hard dive and only releasing the files once a ransom is paid).

While �Ӱ�ԭ��’s security technologies such as email security and anti-virus help prevent much of these attacks, some do get through as the volume and sophistication of attacks continues to increase.

To help reduce �Ӱ�ԭ��’s risk, you can:

• Backup your data. Save your work to your G:, P: or W: drives – ITS backs these up on a daily basis.
• Browse safely.  If you receive a notice that a website may not be safe, best to adhere to this warning. Enable browser pop-up blockers.
• Be wary of unsolicited email.Be careful about clicking on links and opening files contained in emails.
• Keep your software up to date.Software updates are often bundled with security updates. It’s important to install these updates as they are issued. ITS regularly patches standard applications supported in the standard windows image. If you provide technical support for systems or applications, ensure that you keep them updated with the latest security patches.
• Install antivirus software. ITS distributes and manages Trend Micro anti-virus for on-campus use and a home version is also available for all staff and faculty. ITS has a version of Trend Micro for Apple OSX. We also recommend installing antivirus on your smartphone.

If you do receive an email that you believe is phishing, malware or ransomware, do not respond and report it to the .

Here are our top 10 tips to stay safe on social media:

1. Use a strong password.  The longer it is, the more secure it will be.
2. Use a different password for each of your social media accounts.
3. Set up your security answers.  This option is available for most social media sites.
4. If you have social media apps on your phone, be sure to password protect your device.
5. Be selective with friend requests. If you don’t know the person, don’t accept their request.  It could be a fake account.
6. Click links with caution.  Social media accounts are regularly hacked.  Look out for language or content that does not sound like something your friend would post.
7. Be careful about what you share. Don’t reveal sensitive personal information ie: home address, financial information, phone number.  The more you post the easier it is to have your identity stolen.
8. Become familiar with the privacy policies of the social media channels you use and customize your privacy settings to control who sees what.
9. Protect your computer by installing antivirus software to safeguard.  Also ensure that your browser, operating system, and software are kept up to date.
10. Remember to log off when you’re done.

Did you Know? �Ӱ�ԭ��.ca is Getting a Refresh!

Four years ago, we redesigned the �Ӱ�ԭ��.ca home page and it has served us well by bringing in over 100,000 visitors each month.

However, four years is a long time in the digital world and we are happy to say that it’s time for a fresh new look.  Learn more about the carleton.ca refresh…

In support of the event which took place here at �Ӱ�ԭ�� on March 29, and the first anniversary of the , this month’s theme is a ‘big’ one.

Capturing Big Data

• has been created in the past two years than in the entire previous history of the human race.
• Google processes over about .  This is over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year worldwide.
• have been sent this year, as of this second.   146 of those, as of this second.
• This February ITS backed up 482 TB of data. Last February it was 270 TB of data. That’s a 78% increase in just one year.

Analyzing Big Data

• use data to inform Ottawa citizens of key local issues and trends – from basic needs and standard of living to economy and employment to health and wellness.
• Over the next 5 years in North American there will be .
• The Computing Support Unit in the School of Computer Science recently to support big data learning and research.
• Each month ITS managers meet for ‘Ops Review’ where they review and discuss campus IT data and trends on everything from wireless, to campus card door swipes to website traffic.

Collaborating Around Big Data

• took place on March 29th in the River Building. This is an annual conference that celebrates the latest developments in data science and analytics research within the �Ӱ�ԭ�� community and in Canada.
• On April 19 a group of over 40 �Ӱ�ԭ�� researchers gathered in Dunton Tower for a day-long  hosted by the Institute for Data Science.
• 53 faculty members are participating in the new collaborative data program in the and there are more than 130 researchers at �Ӱ�ԭ�� are working on projects involving big data
• CCS’s Research Computing Services brings together faculty members in need of similar advanced computing resources.

Supporting Researchers on Campus

This month I sat down with Sylvain Pitre, Manager of Research Computing here in ITS to talk about what him and his team, Andrew and Blake, offer to researchers and the exciting new Research Computing Cluster they are working on.

“We help faculty and students who are working on projects with advanced research computing needs.   These projects generally involve big data, large computational power or modelling that cannot be handled by standard computing infrastructure.

We work with these faculty members to understand their research computing needs and provide the support or computing resources they require.”

5 Things We Thought You Should Know

1. Congratulations: We have three people celebrating service anniversaries in May.  Congratulations to Pierre Morissette (15 years), Kelly Callan (10 years), and Blake Henderson (1 year).
2. Campus Card Opens Doors and So Much More: In March, the Campus Card was used to open doors 864,654 times. It was used nearly 300,000 times as a debit card to pay for meals, laundry, printing, vending, and books. .
3. Direct-Inward-Dial phone numbers: This month personal DID numbers (example 613-520-4567) to �Ӱ�ԭ��’s phone number (613-520-2600 ext. 4567).  This change was done in order to be consistent in representing �Ӱ�ԭ�� to the outside community.
4. Latest CCMS Upgrade:  Web Services recently upgraded the latest template to .  The upgrade includes a new responsive newsletter theme.
5. This Month’s IT Security Tip: Banks use comprehensive safeguards to protect the integrity and security of your information and financial transactions. If you choose to bank online you need to do the same.  .

Like what you see?  

If you have an idea on how we can improve, .

• Pick a strong password.  Online Banking passwords must be unique and complex. It is highly recommended that you change your password every 3 months.
• Choose complex personal identification questions. When setting up your online banking account always choose 2 factor authentication if available as it offers a higher level of security.
• Beware of phishing.  ITS will never ask you for your password via email and neither will your bank.  If you do receive an email from your bank asking for your password, do not give it to them!
• Login on a secured connection.  Do not login to online banking from an unsecured wireless network.  Make sure that you are on a trusted secured connection so your user credentials are not vulnerable to being compromised. Always use a good browser with added security like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox and always logout before you close your browser or end your session.  Always make sure that you are logging into a secured website via “https”. All banks will always have the encryption lock in the browser showing the level of security.
• Aways log out. �������ɲ����.
• Clear your cache. If you’re logging into your banking account on a public computer, after you’ve logged out you can enhance your security by

from our Information Security team.

To protect your laptop:

Most laptop theft occurs when devices are left unattended. To prevent laptop theft:

• Never leave your laptop unattended.
• Do not ask strangers to watch your laptop for you.
• Do not leave laptops in a vehicle.
• Use theoffered by �Ӱ�ԭ�� Safety.

To protect your portable storage devices:

The portability of data in the digital age is both convenient and risky. Data can easily be moved on portable storage devices (e.g. USB drives or portable hard drives); however, these media types are often not protected appropriately. If the portable storage device is lost or left unattended, the data on the device is at risk.

Information Technology Services (ITS) strongly encourages that data be stored and shared by using the network drives. ITS does not prohibit the use of USB drives on workstations; however, if you must use USB drives:

• Store your USB drive in a safe place.
• Delete all data off a USB drive before disposing of it.
• Use only one USB drive to avoid misplacing the drive.
• If you must store sensitive data on a drive, use a secure USB drive.

If you do experience a theft of your laptop or any other item, please contact the as soon as possible.