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Author: billkoff

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Phishing occurs when criminals try to get us to open harmful links, emails or attachments that could request our personal information or infect our devices. Phishing messages or “bait” usually come in the form of an email, text, direct message on social media or phone call. These messages are often designed to look like they come from a trusted person or organization, to get us to respond.

The good news is we can avoid the phish hook and keep our accounts secure with these tips!

Stay Safe with Three Simple Tips

1. Recognize

Look for these common signs:

  • Urgent or emotionally appealing language, especially messages that claim dire consequences for not responding immediately
  • Requests to send personal and financial information
  • Untrusted shortened URLs
  • Incorrect email addresses or links, like amazan.com

A common sign used to be poor grammar or misspellings although in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) some emails will now have perfect grammar and spelling, so look out for the other signs.

2. Resist

If you suspect phishing, resist the temptation to click on links or attachments that seem too good to be true and may be trying to access your personal information. Instead, report the phish to protect yourself and others. Typically, you’ll find options to report near the person’s email address or username. You can also report via the “report spam” button in the toolbar or settings.

3. Delete

Delete the message. Don’t reply or click on any attachment or link, including any “unsubscribe” link. Just delete.

If a message looks suspicious, it's probably phishing. 

However, if you think it could be real, don't click on any link or call any number in the message. Look up another way to contact the company or person directly:

  • Visit a verified website for the company and use this contact information. To find verified websites, search for the site in your web browser or type the address yourself if you’re sure you know it.
  • Use another way to reach the person to confirm whether they contacted you. For example, if you get a strange message from your friend on Facebook, and you have their phone number, text or call them to ask if they sent the message.

GW faculty, students, and staff can forward suspected phishing emails to abuse[@]gwu.edu.  This account is monitored by the GW IT Security team.  They investigate phishing reports to ensure that others at GW do not have the phishing message in their inbox.

Additional Tips available on the Secure-Our-World-Phishing-Tip-Sheet  as well as in the following video published by CISA.

Recognize and Report Phishing (Audio Description)

Posting content obtained from https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/recognize-and-report-phishing

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Creating, managing, and using complex passwords for the many sites and services we all access is a daunting task.  While password managers can assist with the memorization and management challenges, traditional passwords do not leverage modern security capabilities.  A rapidly evolving technology involves passkeys in place of passwords.  At a basic level passkeys leverage your personal computer, mobile device, or even a password manager to provide a validated (through finger print for example) encrypted response to login challenges from a website you have an account on.  This process effectively replaces the matching of a password you submit to one stored on the site.  In the passkey scenario you are providing an encrypted answer to a unique challenge and all of the communications are encrypted.  Through the use of public key and private key technology and in underlying technology, your identity is verified and access granted without your private key being transferred.   There is a more technical explanation of the passkey process here: Passkey (Passkey Authentication) Technopedia June 2023. Basic passkey process steps:
  1. You establish a passkey on a website that supports it using a device that supports the technology.
  2. Once established, when you access a site instead of entering a password, your device will ask you to verify your identity
  3. You use device-based authentication (PIN number, fingerprint, or facial recognition) on your personal device to authorize website access.
  4. Your device responds to the site through an encrypted message confirming your identity.
  5. The website then grants you access.
The process of the challenge question to your device and the messaging back to the site is encrypted, your private key is not transferred, and information about the web site all combine to make this login approach more secure than using passwords.  Using passkeys should help reduce inadvertent credential compromises through fraudulent websites with the added safeguards built in around site verification. A PCWorld article - Passkeys Explained: How to Embrace a Passwordless Future Today from May 2024 has additional information on passkeys and notes there are directories of providers that support passwordless logins:

Services with passkey support

There is no official directory of all providers with passwordless login. Lists are provided by Passkeys.io, Passkeys Directory, and Keeper, among others.
If you utilize a password manager, most offer support for managing and using passkeys. Cloud services can enable passkey use across multiple devices.  While there are many options to explore a simple way to get started would be using solutions from vendors deeply connected to devices and the device operating systems software like Google, Apple, and/or Microsoft.

Ars Technica published an article in May of 2023 with frequently asked questions about passkeys  Passkeys may not be for you, but they are safe and easy—here’s why   The article covers common questions about privacy, personal account security, and trust.  The following excerpt from the site recaps how the passkey process works while enhancing your personal cybersecurity. (emphasis added).

Que: Passkeys give control of your credentials to Apple/Google/Microsoft, to a third-party syncing service, or to the site you’re logging in to. Why would I ever do that? Ans: Assuming you’re using a password to sign in to a service such as Gmail, Azure, or Github, you’re already trusting these companies to implement their authentication systems in a way that doesn’t expose the shared secrets that allow you to log in. Logging in to one of these sites with a passkey instead of a password gives the sites the same control—no more and no less—over your credentials that they had before.

The reason is that the private key portion of a passkey never leaves a user’s encrypted devices. The authentication occurs on the user device. The user device then sends the site being logged in to a cryptographic proof that the private key resides on the device logging in. The cryptography involved in this process ensures that the proof can’t be spoofed.

Key takeaways:
  • Passwords will still be present for many sites for some time.
  • Passkeys provide more secure authentication for sites and device that support them.
  • Explore passkeys on a couple of sites and expand your use as you gain experience.
  • It is a good idea to try the technology, as it will become more prevalent and in some cases required to access web applications.

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Before spilling your digital secrets to ChatGPT or other AI tools, remember it's more sieve than vault!  The amount of stolen ChatGPT accounts is just unbelievable. Why? Because criminals know people copy/paste sensitive data into ChatGPT conversations. Here are a few tips to keep you safe when using any AI tools:
  1. Beware of fake AI apps and browser extensions that may be malware or phishing scams
  2. Never enter sensitive information or PII while using AI tools
  3. Treat AI tools like a knowledgeable but overconfident friend, and use them cautiously
Want even more tips on how to stay safe using AI? Continue reading or watch this 1-minute video: (material by Wizer-training.com)
  • Never enter sensitive information of personally identifiable information (PII) while using AI tools.
  • Remove mentions of GW, faculty, staff and student names from content put in AI tools.
  • Ensure that AI-generated information is validated through other sources prior to using.
  • Understand potential bias in AI-generated content.
  • Thoroughly review AI-generated code before using.
  • Treat AI tools like a knowledgeable but overconfident friend and use them cautiously.

    • Content provided by wizer-training.com

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The National Cybersecurity Alliance partnered with Consumer Reports to bring you a new animated video [opens YouTube link] about how you can take control of your data! Check out "The Tale of Privacy Peyton" below, and download Consumer Reports' Permission Slip.

Image of for Tale of Privacy Peyton Video

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Content from National Cybersecurity Alliance. (2023, November 22). Take control of your data.

ALL YOUR ONLINE ACTIVITY GENERATES A TRAIL OF DATA

Your online activity creates a treasure trove of data. This data ranges from your interests and purchases to your online behaviors, and it is collected by websites, apps, devices, services, and companies all around the globe. This data can even include information about your physical self, like health data – think about how an app on your phone might count how many steps you take. 

You cannot control how each little piece of data about you and your family is collected. However, you still have a right to data privacy. You can help manage your data with a few repeatable behaviors. Your data is valuable and you deserve to have a say! 

Here are some simple, easy tips you that will help you manage your data privacy:

Know the tradeoff between privacy and convenience 

Nowadays, when you download a new app, open a new online account, or join a new social media platform, you will often be asked for access to your personal information before you can even use it! This data might include your geographic location, contacts, and photos.

For these businesses, this personal information about you is tremendously value — and you should think about if the service you get in return is worth the data you must hand over, even if the service is free.

Make informed decisions about sharing your data with businesses or services:

  • Is the service, app, or game worth the amount or type of personal data they want in return?
  • Can you control your data privacy and still use the service?
  • Is the data requested even relevant for the app or service (that is, “why does a Solitaire game need to know all my contacts”)?
  • If you haven’t used an app, service, or account in several months, is it worth keeping around knowing that it might be collecting and sharing your data?
Adjust privacy settings to your comfort level

For every app, account, or device, check the privacy and security settings. These should be easy to find in a Settings section and should take a few moments to change. Set them to your comfort level for personal information sharing; generally, we think it’s wise to lean on the side of sharing less data, not more.

You don’t have to do this for every account at once, start small and over time you’ll make a habit of adjusting all your settings to your comfort. We have in-depth, free resources like our Manage Your Privacy Settings page that lets you check the settings of social media accounts, retail stores, apps and more.

Protect your data

Data privacy and data security go hand-in-hand. Along with managing your data privacy settings, follow some simple cybersecurity tips to keep it safe. We recommend following the Core 4: 

Manage Your Privacy Settings

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Content in this post includes recommendations and suggestions for password creation and management as well as information on training materials available to the GW community.  This resource guide is presented as part of the Cybersecurity is a Shared Responsibility awareness campaign.  The GW IT Security team provides these posts to support increased awareness and knowledge across all stakeholder groups.  The principle the posts follow is that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility for all users.  Suggestions on content, areas of focus, or to arrange team training should be directed to infoec@gwu.edu.

Persistent cyber-attacks target personal, organizational, and system accounts.  The resources and training modules below are designed for various technical knowledge levels.  Some resources including some training modules may require access to restricted content.  Access restrictions for any sites requiring access will be noted.  External links to sites not controlled by GW will also be noted with an external link notation.  Details on organizations providing the external materials are listed at the bottom of this article in the event you are not familiar with the acronym or function.

Password Strength and Complexity Resources, Articles, and Guidance

Increased understanding of the need for strong and complex passwords as well as emerging security technologies is critical to ensuring your data and access to your systems and services are secure.

Password Managers

Password managers are applications used to store passwords.  Generally, provide a convenient place to store all of your passwords, requiring you only remember the password manager master password.  These solutions can be installed on devices, access through cloud services, and/or integrated into web browsers.  They provide convenience of only remembering one password to access a tool that contains all of your unique passwords.

The Best Password Managers | PCMag – External Content Hosted by PCMag

Training Modules

The following modules are available to faculty and staff through GW’s Talent@GW system.  Search for training titles in the Learning -> Browse for Training menu after logging into Talent@GW.  Managers can assign training to staff through the Talent@GW system as well.

Creating Strong Passwords - Security Awareness Training

Audience – Introductory Level of Technical Knowledge

Talent@GW Search Term - Password Security

Content Provider and Location:  KnowBe4 Module  Accessed Through Talent@GW

Privileged User Security Series: Privileged Access (8 minutes)

Audience – Intermediate Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term  -Privileged Access

Content Provider and Location:  KnowBe4 Module  Accessed Through Talent@GW

Privileged User Security Series: Secure Windows Administration (15 minutes)

Audience – Intermediate to Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term - Secure Windows Administration

Content Provider and Location:  KnowBe4 Module  Accessed Through Talent@GW

Privileged User Security Series: Secure Linux Administration (15 minutes)

Audience – Intermediate to Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term - Secure Linux Administration

Content Provider and Location:  KnowBe4 Module  Accessed Through Talent@GW

Privileged User Security Series: Secure Database Administration (15 minutes)

Audience – Intermediate to Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term - Secure Database Administration

Content Provider and Location:  KnowBe4 Module Accessed Through Talent@GW

 

Securing Windows Server 2016: Managing Privileged Identities (1 hour 7 minutes)

Audience – Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term – Server 2016

Content:  LinkedIn Learning Module Accessed Through Talent@GW

Securing Windows Server 2016: Server Hardening Solutions

Audience – Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term – Server 2016

Content:  LinkedIn Learning Module Accessed Through Talent@GW

Securing Windows Server 2019

Audience – Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term – Server 2019

Content:  LinkedIn Learning Module Accessed Through Talent@GW

 

Securing Windows Server 2016: Managing Privileged Identities (1 hour 7 minutes)

Audience – Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term – Server 2016

Content:  LinkedIn Learning Module Accessed Through Talent@GW

Securing Windows Server 2016: Server Hardening Solutions

Audience – Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term – Server 2016

Content:  LinkedIn Learning Module Accessed Through Talent@GW

Securing Windows Server 2019

Audience – Advanced Level of Technical Knowledge Required

Talent@GW Search Term – Server 2019

Content:  LinkedIn Learning Module Accessed Through Talent@GW

Password Guidance and Reference Materials Sources and Organizations

CISA https://www.cisa.gov/ - CISA is the operational lead for federal cybersecurity and the national coordinator for critical infrastructure security and resilience. We are designed for collaboration and partnership. Learn about our layered mission to reduce risk to the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure.

ISACA  https://www.isaca.org/about-us  - As a globally recognized leader in IS/IT for over 50 years, ISACA is a professional membership organization committed to the advancement of digital trust by empowering IS/IT professionals to grow their skills and knowledge in audit, cybersecurity, emerging tech and more.

SANS sans.org launched in 1989 as a cooperative for information security thought leadership, it is SANS’ ongoing mission to empower cyber security professionals with the practical skills and knowledge they need to make our world a safer place.

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