[CCoE Notice] FW: UHS Information Security COVID-19 Advisory Message

Mon Apr 6 13:57:02 CDT 2020

Good Afternoon,

Following this email from Mary Dickerson below, I just wanted to remind everyone to keep an eye out for non-UH emails perpetrating department heads and Dean Tedesco.  These emails will typically create a sense of urgency, and as soon as you respond, you will be asked to purchase gift cards or something similar to then send the information to the perpetrator.  The same strategy applies to these types emails as to the ones Mary outlined below on how to recognize and protect yourself from malicious emails.  When in doubt, please forward the suspicious emails to me and provide a brief analysis of the email so I can help you to get better at identifying malicious emails.  Because these emails will change in form and resurface at a later time, we all need to make sure we're only answering emails originating from the officially-assigned UH email addresses (@central.uh.edu).  I've made it a habit to answer emails from non-UH addresses by deleting the non-UH email addresses, and replace them with UH-assigned email addresses.

Please email me separately if you have any additional questions about these types of emails.

Thanks,

Kiet Luong
Director of Engineering Computing
College Information Security Officer
Cullen College of Engineering
University of Houston
Email: KietL at uh.edu<mailto:KietL at uh.edu>
Voice: 713.743.9974

From: University of Houston System Information Security <it at uh.edu>
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2020 9:01 AM
To: Luong, Kiet A <KDLuong at Central.UH.EDU>
Subject: UHS Information Security COVID-19 Advisory Message

[University of Houston - University Information Technology]

UHS Faculty, Staff and Students:

We are all navigating a "new normal" with respect to our work and our interaction with the university.  In light of this, here are a few helpful information security reminders:
1.      Protect yourself - be aware that criminals are looking to take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis.  Don't fall victim to scams selling fake test kits or offering to "help" you get stimulus checks.  Never give out your personal information or click on links or attachments in email messages.  Only go to official websites (CDC, FDA, etc.) by entering the web address directly.
2.      Protect your accounts - Use separate passwords for each of your accounts.  For example, don't use the same password on your university account as on your social media account or banking account.  Use strong passwords and passphrases whenever possible.
3.      Protect your devices - make sure your phones, tablets, laptops are all kept updated with the latest software updates.  Don't forget to update your applications (such as Adobe, Office, etc.), too!
4.      Protect your home network - Change the default passwords on your Wi-Fi routers and other home devices.
5.      Protect your video sessions - When using video-conferencing applications such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc. for meetings or classes be sure to understand the default settings and make the appropriate changes to manage your interactions.
6.      Protect University data - Be sure that you are following all appropriate procedures to protect university data and comply with record retention requirements.  See SAM 07.A.08 Data Classification and Protection for details.

These simple actions can help to keep you safe and secure. For more information on these items see the UHS Information Security web site: www.uh.edu/infotech/security<http://www.uh.edu/infotech/security>. For assistance with UHS Information Security issues, or to report incidents, please contact us at security at uh.edu<mailto:security at uh.edu> or via phone at 832-842-4695.

[https://uh.edu/ecomm/images/uhsecurity_covidsecurity_v4.jpg]
Mary E. Dickerson, MBA, CISSP, CISM, PMP
Assistant Vice-Chancellor, IT Security
Chief Information Security Officer
University of Houston System
Department phone: 832-842-4695
email: mdickerson at uh.edu<mailto:mdickerson at uh.edu>

View web version<https://cloudapps.uh.edu/sendit/w/48V9EUUcJN8WEzgWiiZslg/YnMQUW1VLUcjNrID5m0zPA/c892ZD892GZx75K120X7632loa1A>

[https://uh.edu/ecomm/images/uh_socialmedia_png.png]<https://cloudapps.uh.edu/sendit/l/48V9EUUcJN8WEzgWiiZslg/lgIrP1p8N9Tj0fCI3tzJAQ/c892ZD892GZx75K120X7632loa1A>

This is an official message sent by the University of Houston. To verify the validity of this message, email security at uh.edu<mailto:security at uh.edu>.

[https://cloudapps.uh.edu/sendit/t/c892ZD892GZx75K120X7632loa1A/48V9EUUcJN8WEzgWiiZslg]
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://Bug.EGR.UH.EDU/pipermail/engi-dist/attachments/20200406/7787218d/attachment-0001.html 