Welcome to the Network Security website at the IAS

This website is intended to bring you the latest news, how to's, tools and resources in Information Security.  Security Awareness of our Faculty, Members and Staff is key in creating a safer computing environment.

The three major Principles of Information Security, Availability, Integrity and Confidentiality, will be covered throughout the security awareness program at the Institute.  For a description of these principles, please see our About section.

In keeping with the spirit of the Institute, I encourage questions and open discussions about security.  And if you discover anything out of the ordinary, please feel free to bring it to my attention so that we can work together to create a more productive, safer environment.

Thanks,
Brian Epstein <security@ias.edu>
twitter: @epepepep

Personal Anti-Virus Protection

In an effort to help protect our Faculty, Members, Staff and their families at home, the Institute for Advanced Study is now offering free Anti-Virus licenses for personal computers running the Windows operating system.

If you have a personal computer and would like to take advantage of this program, you can do so by logging in below with your IAS user credentials.

This software only applies to personal computers running a version of the Windows operating system from Microsoft. If you have an IAS supplied computer, this or similar software has already been installed.

Be Aware of Gift Card Scams and other Phishing Attacks

Submitted by ep on

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]

Spotting a scam email (aka a phish)

Submitted by ep on

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.

New system for remote access to IAS resources

Submitted by ep on

Dear Faculty, Members, Visitors, and Staff,

We are pleased to introduce you to the next generation of secure remote access to IAS network resources when traveling or working from home.

Our new VPN system, known as OpenVPN, is easier to use, has a higher level of security, and is compatible with more devices than the previous system.  Via this announcement, we are encouraging everyone to transition their devices to the new platform.  To begin to leverage OpenVPN, please see the Installation Guide, located at:

Changes to Central Authentication Service (CAS) front page

Submitted by ep on

Dear Staff,

I'm writing to let you know of a change happening on June 27th, 2018 to our Central Authentication Service (CAS) front page.  CAS is used for a single place to sign in for many of our websites that we use here at the IAS.  We are upgrading to a new version, which will involve an update to the front page where you type in your username and password.

Old CAS login screen:

New CAS login screen:

Recent steps taken to reduce phishing attempts

Dear Faculty, Members, and Staff,

Over the past few months we have seen an increase in the number of tageted attacks against the Institute's email systems.  In order to mitigate future attacks, Computing has taken several steps to better protect our email systems.  This includes realigning our spam and phishing filters to better match vendor best practices, and establishing outbound email throttling to prevent widespread distribution of spam from the Institute.

Following these changes, we also make the following recommendations:

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