The goal of Cyber Security Awareness is to ensure everyone at NSU has the knowledge necessary to act in protecting themselves, their devices, and NSU systems. Being an Informed Cyber Citizen means you understand and can recognize phishing attempts or malicious activity in the technology world.
Your NSU Account and Password
ITS and the NSU IT Service Desk will never ask you to provide your password.
If you believe your account has been compromised at any time, please change your password immediately through the Password Manager website: password.nsuok.edu
Create a Strong Password
The Do's
- Use unique passwords for different systems
- Use a phrase to help you remember your password
- Use special characters or symbols
- Substitute numbers for letters
- Use a Password Manager application such as LastPass to secure all login credentials
And The Do Not's
- Do not use the same password for multiple accounts
- Do not create a password based on personal information
- Do not share your password with anyone
Cyber Security Safety Tips
- Never walk away without locking or signing off your computer
- Do not share NSU related files, documents, or business information unless authorized
- Do not use your NSU Email Account for personal business or to sign up for personal accounts
- Do not write down your username and password or post this information for others to see
- Do not save personal information to an NSU computer
- Do not click on suspicious URLs, Links, Emails, or Attachments
- Ensure your software, operating systems, and browsers, and personal devices are up to date
- Perform virus scans routinely on personal devices
Symptoms of a Compromised Computer
- slow or non-responsive
- experiencing unexpected behavior such as programs popping up
- showing signs of high level of activity to the hard drive that is not the result of anything you initiated
- displaying messages on your screen that you haven't seen before
- running out of disk space unexpectedly
- unable to run a program because it doesn't have enough memory - and this hasn't happened before
- constantly crashing
- automatically communicating with external computers that you did not initiate
- receiving bounced-back emails
Avoid Phishing Attempts
Phishing is an attempt to fraudulently acquire your personal information or resources by posing as a trustworthy entity.
Examine your emails carefully! Phishing emails are the number one way hackers attempt to your steal information. Use caution when reading an email you receive from an unfamiliar sender. Use caution when downloading attachments or clicking on links within an email, as these are the most common methods used to infect your computer and email account.
Review Sender Information - Hover your mouse over the name of the Sender. A window will open and provide you the senders name and email address. Is it a legitimate NSU Email Addresses?
Subject Link Information - Read the subject line of the email carefully. Do the subject line make sense? Or does it create urgency on your part to act now?
Examine Message Information - Ask yourself if you know the sender and know about the subject information? Does the sender know you? Did they use a generic greeting? The sender of a phishing email may have your email address, but they seldom have your name. Use caution if an email was sent with a generic greeting such as "Dear Customer", "Dear Member", or "Dear Account User" . Emails sent from the NSU IT Service Desk will come from help@nsuok.edu. Emails sent from NSU Information Technology Services will come from its@nsuok.edu.
Attachments and Links - Attachments can be dangerous as they may contain malware, which can infect your device and email account. Do not open an attachment from a sender you do not know or trust. Be very caution of links that take you straight to a page to fill out personal information. This is a clear indication the email is phishing attempt.
Once you have examined the information above and suspect the email is a phishing attempt, immediately mark the email as spam and delete it from you inbox!
Watch the Phishing 101 Video
Additional Resources
LastPass: https://www.lastpass.com/hp
The Password Meter: https://howsecureismypassword.net/ shows the strength of your password
State of Oklahoma - Information Security Policy, Procedures, and Guidelines: https://www.ok.gov/cio/documents/InfoSecPPG.pdf
Stay Safe Online: https://staysafeonline.org/ncsam/about-ncsam/
US-Cert: https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/tips
Department of Homeland Security: https://www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect#
Federal Trade Commission: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0060-10-things-you-can-do-avoid-fraud