There is a nefarious practice of stealing people's phone numbers to intercept their phone calls and text messages, and it is fairly easy to do if you know what you are doing.  The attack involves calling the wireless carrier and convincing them to switch your phone number to a new device.

An upcoming change will modify the look of our Duo Multi-Factor Authentication login prompt.  This change will enhance the security of the system, and will be rolled out to our web applications over the next few months.  Although there is no major difference on how you use the login prompt, we wanted you to be aware of the change so it isn't a surprise.

Old Prompt

Here is a screen shot of the old login prompt.

The New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC) sent out a notice reporting several incidents regarding fake text messages impersonating the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.  This scam is being used to collect your private information which could be used to open credit accounts or steal your identity.

https://www.cyber.nj.gov/garden_state_cyber_threat_highlight/sms-text-sc...

The short answer is, I'm using the COVID Alert NJ [1] [2] app on my smartphone.  I find it to be a safe, secure, and private way for me to participate in helping to stop the spread of COVID-19.  That being said, I didn't trust the app blindly.  I did research and testing to ensure it met my requirements for privacy and security.  My findings are below in case it helps you make a choice on whether or not you participate as well.  For more

In the upcoming months IAS will be making a change to the login process for our web based applications by adding support for Duo Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).  This is the same technology that we currently use for our remote access system, OpenVPN.  This move will change the look of the login screen, which we explain below.

May 2020

Old: Central Authentication Service (CAS) 

CAS has been in use for many years at the IAS and has a simple login screen that looks like this.

Now that we've moved our meetings to being online, there are some safety concerns that we need to keep in mind that we never had to think too hard about before.  We are seeing news articles about "Zoom-bombing", where uninvited guests join public Zoom calls to disrupt, or even terrorize its participants.  There are a number of techniques that you can use to secure your Zoom sessions.

What are Gift Card Scams?

The story starts with an innocent email from a supervisor, colleague, or friend asking for your help.  They tell you a tale about how they need some gift cards for gifts to family, friends, potential donors, etc.  Unfortunately, they are unable to make the purchase themselves, could you help them out?  And of course, it is an emergency, please do it as quickly as possible.  Did you just fall for a gift card scam? [1]

Issue

We are inundated with information nowadays, from the tweets, texts, TV, streaming, email, mentions, etc, etc.  This hectic lifestyle puts us into a mode of needing to respond as soon as possible to any interruption or notice that happens in our lives.  The problem is, malicious scam artists are aware that we are overwhelmed by the influx and are taking advantage of our vulnerability.  They do this by creating realistic looking emails and enticing us to click on them and enter our sensitive data before we realize it is a scam.