Technology has become a part of our lives every single day, especially in school. Often times, Wright State students receive spam or phishing scams in their inboxes.
A phishing scam is a form of fraud in which an attacker masquerades as a reputable entity or person in email or other communication channels, according to searchsecurity.targettech.com.
“Information security is often in the news today. Generally speaking, when that topic is in the news, it isn’t good. CaTS takes the responsibility of protecting your personal information seriously,” said Mike Natale, the Wright State chief information security officer.
Wright State’s CaTS department works to make the Raider community aware of phishing scams and protect against them. They provide support for anything technology-based on campus such as Internet access, computer labs, electronic classrooms, telephones, information technology security, and administrative and computing resources.
“Two of the easiest ways your computer system can become infected is by clicking on a link that takes you to an infected website or by downloading a document that is infected with malware,” Natale said. “However, there are many other methods that can be used to steal your data. CaTS has taken steps to implement a layered approach to information security by placing security systems and technical controls into our environment.”
CaTS utilizes firewalls and intrusion prevention systems that protects everyone's computers while on the Raider network. Along with filter for email spam, URL filtering and a document scan protect users from emails designed to trick a person into a scam.
“Be alert to emails that do not seem quite right (I.e. containing bad grammar, spelling, or opportunities that seem 'too good to be true'), said Natale. “Do not send your username and password in response to an email; CaTS will never ask you to do that. Be careful when clicking on links in an email, especially ones telling you to visit a site because there is a problem with your email account; CaTS won’t do this either.”
Natale also recommended to keep the antivirus software up to date and install security patches on personal computers.
For more information on protecting a computer or about CaTS go to their website or contact the CaTS Help Desk at (937) 775-4827.
