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
Submitted by ep on
Martin Lee, the Threat Intelligence Technical Lead over at Cisco, posted a fascinating article about the dangers of clicking on links when tired. There has recently been a campaign telling people that driving tired is as bad or worse than driving drunk, and now it seems that clicking tired is also on the track of bad things to do.
Submitted by ep on
It has been a common thread in security talks since the inception of spam that it is a bad idea to give any type of response indicating that a human is reading the spam. For example, by clicking on the "unsubscribe" link in a spam, all you are doing is asking to be put on more lists.
This interesting article by Laura Atkins from Word to the Wise (an anti-spam consultancy and software firm), debunks this setiment, and calls it a myth.
Submitted by ep on
Comedian Jack Vale did a great video on the dangers of sharing information on Instagram and Twitter in the funny, but sobering video. Independent security analyst Graham Cluley did a great review of the video and how it affects users.
http://grahamcluley.com/2013/11/instagram-twitter-location-privacy/
Please inform your social circle and keep yourself safe.
Submitted by ep on
Cryptolocker is a new piece of malicious software that has started circling the globe in the last half of 2013. Deemed "rasomware" by security professionals, Cryptolocker encrypts your files and demands payment to receive the key to decrypt them. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) drafted a briefing about this software, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you are infected.
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA13-309A
Submitted by ep on
At the beginning of October, Adobe notified its customers of the theft of about 2.9 million account credentials.
http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2013/10/important-customer-security...
To reset your Adobe password, you can visit the following site.
https://www.adobe.com/account/sign-in.adobedotcom.html?passwordReset=true
Submitted by ep on
SANS Diary writer Sally Vandeven reports on how easy it is to extract the secret keys your browser (Chrome and Firefox) uses for SSL connections.
https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Psst+Your+Browser+Knows+All+Your+Secre...
Submitted by ep on
Hapstance produced this very entertaining, yet woefully scary accurate portrayal of what it would be like if our spam was real and walking around amongst us. It is definitely informative and funny at the same time. Thanks to Kevin for pointing me toward it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AThjAHemJ1o
Thanks,
ep
Submitted by ep on
Submitted by ep on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srh_TV_J144
Ellen did a great skit on the real world infomercial for the Password Minder. It is a good watch, especially if you are a fan of hers.
For some good tips on creating security, easy to remember passwords, check out this blog post.
https://security.ias.edu/complex-passwords-are-easy-remember
Submitted by ep on
http://mreinhold.org/blog/secure-the-train
On April 18, 2013, Mark Reinhold from Oracle blogged that the release of Java 8 is being delayed so that they can focus on security issues.
"Security vulnerabilities related to Java running inside web browsers have lately received a lot of public attention."