Be cyberaware: follow these tips

In the ongoing effort to protect TU from cyberthreats, the Office of Information Security reminds all faculty and staff to continue being cyberaware. Your vigilance can help prevent your account from being compromised by phishing attempts.

An August 12, 2019 email sent by TU’s Office of Human Resources asked faculty and staff to complete a confidentiality agreement by clicking through DocuSign. Some recipients reported the email to phishing@towson.edu because they were unsure if it was legit, which is exactly what should be done if you are unsure about an email. In this case, the email is safe. Continue to follow these tips to avoid becoming a victim of a phishing scam:

  • Check for the [EXTERNAL EMAIL – USE CAUTION] email tag. The tag is intended to remind you to use caution when looking at and responding to emails from an external sender.
  • Think before you act. Be suspicious of external emails requesting an action like logging into a site with your NetID and password, downloading an attachment, or to make strange purchase request. Hover over provided links to reveal the true destination. Call the sender, in this case OHR, to confirm the request.
  • If you’re unsure, report the phish. When using Outlook on a desktop/laptop, click the “Report Phish” button. If using a mobile device, forward the email to phishing@towson.edu. Both options send the email to our Security Operations team for review and analysis.
  • Keep your password private. No one at TU will ever ask for your password!

For more resources on how to recognize phishing, visit www.towson.edu/phishing.

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This post was written by Weldon, Jennifer