October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a global effort to help everyone stay safe and protected when using technology whenever and however you connect. Millersville University is proud to be a Champion and support this online safety and education initiative.
Information security does not hinge on one individual, it takes everyone to do their part and take action! This isn’t only at work, these same tactics can be applied at home as well. There are all kinds of ways to stay safe and secure online but even just practicing these cybersecurity basics can make a huge difference:
- Awareness is the key
- The ability to recognize spam emails, phishing emails, phishing text messages, or anything that may seem out of order in your digital world is crucial. Here at MU we provide mandatory Cyber Security Awareness Training that must be completed on an annual basis. These trainings are designed to help you recognize when a bad actor is attempting to do something nefarious to you and other members our campus community. Such examples could be anything from social engineering, phishing, or even physical security of our facilities. The mandatory Cyber Security training must be complete prior to the end of the 2022 calendar year. If you have not completed these yet, you will be receiving frequent email reminders to do so. If you feel you haven’t received an invite to preform the training, please contact the helpdesk at 717-871-7777 to be enrolled. A new round of trainings will begin in the beginning of 2023, containing new information and techniques to assist you in the ever evolving cyber security battlefield.
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
- At Millersville we have made it mandatory for all users to be enrolled in MFA. his technology serves to protect our username and passwords from being used by bad actors.
- Use Strong Passwords and a Password Manager
- Consider using a passphrase rather than a password to protect your accounts both within MU and at home. Passwords are strongest when including all types of characters including uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. Passwords over 12 characters long are harder to be compromised. If you find passwords daunting, consider using a password manager app on your device to manage accounts and strong passwords.
- Update Your Software
- Your computer is a gateway to the internet. As such, you must defend it as it contains a plethora of both public and personal information. Another practice to safeguard your device and information is to ensure the software and security patches are up to date whenever possible. Your MU issued devices are updated centrally on a regular basis to ensure the appropriate settings and software are in place. At home and on personal devices, make sure to run updates frequently. If your computer or mobile device recommends an update, consider installing them as soon as possible.
We want to help you, your family, friends, and our community stay safe all year long, too. We encourage you to sign up as an individual Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champion (https://staysafeonline.org/programs/cybersecurity-champion/). After signing up, you’ll receive a toolkit of free resources, including simple steps you can take to #BeCyberSmart.
MU Information is always here to assist you in your journey to being cyber secure. But if you need further assistance, please contact the helpdesk at 717-871-7777.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is co-led by the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA). For more information about ways to keep you and your family safe online visit https://staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/ and https://www.cisa.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month