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IT Security Awareness - Stay Sharp to Stay Safe
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- Audience: Technical Partner
- Service Category: Security
- Owner Team: IT Security
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Service:IT Security Outreach and Training
An engaging way to build awareness
Welcome to the IT Security Awareness site! Each month, we focus on a new IT security topic of interest to the UCSF community. Taking the current month's quiz at the end of the article enters you into a drawing for one of six $50 Amazon Gift Cards.
The articles contain information and resources to help you keep safe and secure online. However, many scams and other issues can be prevented by practicing good IT security habits! Good habits are the foundation of IT Security, just like they are for health, safety, and security in the physical world -- like brushing your teeth or wearing a seatbelt.
Here are nine crucial IT Security habits to incorporate into your online life. Try to make these habits automatic. They will help protect your information, your family, and your work. They'll also reduce your risk of getting scammed!
- Always think twice before clicking on links or opening attachments.
- Verify requests for private information (yours or anyone’s), even if the request seems to come from someone you know.
- Protect your passwords and use multi-factor authentication whenever it is available.
- If you receive any email, text, or call asking you to approve an access request for a login you did not initiate, do not approve it!
- Protect your stuff! Lock it up or take it with you before you leave.
- Keep a clean machine! Keep your devices, apps, browsers, and anti-virus/anti-malware software patched and updated.
- Backup critical files.
- Delete sensitive information when you are done with it.
- If it’s suspicious, report it!
IT Security Awareness News You Can Use
The UCSF IT Security Awareness News You Can Use Newsletter includes monthly articles, contests, links to valuable awareness and training resources, and upcoming events. Learn about new threats and how to protect UCSF and yourself from data breaches. You can also participate in contests to win prizes!
Click here to sign up for the Monthly IT Security Awareness News You Can Use Newsletter New articles, contests, resources, and events every month!
UCSF IT Security Awareness News You Can Use Archive
Monthly Campaigns - Complete the monthly quiz to be entered in the monthly drawing!
May: See Something Phishy or Strange? Use Phish Alarm to Report Potential Phish and Contact the IT Service Desk or UCSF Police for Other Security Incidents
IT security incidents can originate almost anywhere in an organization due to the myriad of methods criminals use to steal and disrupt UC Institutional Information and other IT Resources. However, the majority are currently coming from phishing messages.
To help protect UCSF, our policies require all end users and system owners to report any incidents to the appropriate unit to begin an incident investigation. Timely reporting of an incident is essential to containment and minimizing the potential work disruption and associated cost.
April: Keep your software updated
Software updates (patches), which improve the functionality of products, also correct known security flaws. Software updates can seem inconvenient and time-consuming. However, failure to do them in a timely manner makes your computers, tablets, phones, and other personal devices vulnerable to unwanted intrusion.
March: Use IT Security tools to stay more secure
UCSF provides security software to help keep our data, networks, and computer systems safe and secure. Learn how to keep your data safe and secure.
Link to the full article and quiz
February: Beware of tax scams!
Tax season is upon us, and fraudsters are already calling and sending deceitful e-mail (phishing) and text messages that look like legitimate tax communications. Don’t become another victim!
January: Secure your data
Data is increasingly becoming UCSF’s lifeblood and most critical asset. Concurrently, it is growing enormously in complexity and volume, while regulatory requirements are becoming ever more stringent. These factors make managing data progressively more important for ensuring data confidentiality, integrity and availability and optimizing its usefulness.
One way to conceptualize data protection is to describe it in terms of the data management lifecycle.
December: Safe and secure social networking during the holidays
Social networking is fun, especially during the holidays. You can stay connected to friends and keep in touch with people you rarely see in person. However, there are precautions you need to follow to keep yourself and UCSF safe and secure, especially when you work in a healthcare environment – where protecting patient privacy is paramount.
November: Tips to protect your information during the holiday online shopping season
Online shopping continues to grow in popularity. Online shopping volumes have reached new heights – and so has the threat of online shopping scams. When you shop in person, it's a habit to lock the car and put away your cash or credit card when you’re done with your purchase. Similar habits can protect you, your purchases and your identity when you're shopping online during the holiday season and year-round.
Link to full article and quiz.
October: Dispose of data properly!
Secure disposal is the process of rendering data unreadable by any means, paper or electronic. At the end of the useful life of any type of storage media, from paper to computers, it's the responsibility of all of us to dispose of it properly.
September: Protect UCSF and yourself from ransomware
Ransomware targets range from home users to corporate networks, and how ransomware works is evolving. It’s no longer just about locking up data. Cyber criminals also threaten to divulge sensitive and confidential information and recently have targeted software manufacturers to create supply chain infections. Learn how to protect UCSF and yourself:
August: Be alert for cybersecurity scams as the school year begins
The new school year is an exciting time – including for hackers, identity thieves and other unscrupulous types who take advantage of people during this busy time of year. Watch out for typical beginning-of-the-year scams, and follow good habits to help you stay safe.
July: Travel and work remotely - Securely and safely!
As you embark on travel, it's a good idea to understand how to prepare yourself and all of your devices as well as what could go wrong and what to do if it does. The article includes links to a UC and other resources that may come in handy before and while you travel.
June: Follow UCSF Policies to comply with regulatory requirements
In recent years, due to the enormous growth in the use of technology and risks to its associated data, regulations that protect the security and privacy of data are on the rise. UCSF is subject to many of these regulations. UC has developed IT security policies that address the requirements of these regulations.
Previous Years
May 2020: Work from home securely
In early March, even before local shelter-in-place orders were issued, a large part of our UCSF community began working from home. Recent estimates suggest that 70 percent of UCSF employees are currently working remotely. Read this article to find pointers for working securely, and safely, at home.
July 2021: Reduce malware risk
Is your computer running slowly? Are programs opening and closing automatically? Are you seeing pop-ups, suspicious websites, or other unwanted programs? These are a just a few symptoms of malware. Find out how to keep malware at bay.