October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, so we’d like to take a few minutes to highlight some security “best practices” you can utilize when using Cascade to update the Millersville website.
Use strong passwords
One of the most common ways hackers attempt to get into your account is by trying to crack your password, either manually or through use of computer programs which run through endless combinations of numbers, letters, and symbols. The following tips can help you create a strong password:
- Long passwords are harder to crack, especially those 12 characters or greater
- Use combinations of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols
- Nonsense phrases, misspellings and grammatical oddities make your password harder to guess
- Avoid using personal information such as birthdays or things that could easily be found on social media
DON’T share your password
As mentioned in one of our recent articles about user accounts, we are able and willing to make new accounts for those who need it. Although sharing your password may seem like the easiest solution in a pinch, it is an unnecessary risk that can cost us big in the long run.
Always log out of a public computer
At Millersville, it’s common to make use of a shared computer in one of our many campus labs. Please be mindful to always log out after using a shared computer, as this would be a very easy way for someone to gain access to your account.
Keep your user list up-to-date
Because we are able to create so many Cascade accounts, there are a large number of users with editing abilities for our website. Sometimes we are not aware of students who have graduated, or employees who have moved on. So please let us know if you discover an old account which can be removed from your site.
Be cautious when adding content from external sources
Code or images found on the internet have the potential to be malicious, so you should avoid adding things that aren’t from credible sources. Malicious code mistakenly added to our website could affect thousands of users.
Further information
We highly recommend following Millersville’s National Cybersecurity Awareness blog for daily tips, as well as participating in the online cybersecurity trainings, which most faculty and staff should have received through email.
The content of this blog entry was accurate at the time of publication. You can find the most current information about security “best practices” and other Cascade-related topics in our Cascade wiki documentation.
Up next:
- Best practices for masthead images
Upcoming training sessions:
- Thursday, October 24 @ 10 a.m.
- Monday, November 18 @ 2 p.m.