From the Office of the CIO: Stay vigilant against cyberthreats

As the academic year comes to a close, it’s important that Boilermakers stay vigilant to protect their accounts and personal information from cyberattacks. Due to the high-level research conducted here, Purdue University students and staff are targets for cyberthreats, so we all need to be more vigilant.

Cybercriminals work to use social engineering against you to reveal sensitive information or grant them access to your account or devices. Ultimately, they want access to your knowledge, your money or your system to further their attack. To protect yourself against social engineering, be on alert for the warning signs.

Stop, look and think before you:

• Click on a link or open an email attachment
• Plug external media (like a thumb drive) into your computer
• Provide confidential information or respond to an urgent request via text message or phone call

Remember:

• Purdue IT will never contact you directly to ask for your credentials or for you to change your password via a link provided through email.
• The Office of Student Employment does not ask other students or staff to send emails promoting job offers across campus. (To browse the latest student jobs, visit the office’s website.)
• Contact Purdue IT if you receive notifications of account changes or modification that you did not complete or ask for.

The Purdue Systems Security Cybersecurity Awareness team, part of Purdue IT, provides year-round training about ongoing cybersecurity threats and resources for faculty, staff and students throughout the Purdue system. Cybersecurity updates, FAQs and training videos are available through the online Cybersecurity Awareness hub.

Report any suspicious emails using the “Report Message” function in Outlook or by emailing abuse@purdue.edu. Contact the IT Customer Service Center at 765-494-4000 or it@purdue.edu if you or someone you know falls victim to a phishing attack.

Christian Theumer
Chief Information Officer, Information Technology