All of us exist in digital form on the Internet. When you're online you leave a trail of "digital exhaust" in the form of cookies, GPS data, social network posts, browser searches, and email exchanges, among others. Services that you don’t even use may have information about you. And once something is online, it can be there forever.
Recently ISO underwent a structural reorganization. This new structure allows us to continue to evolve and respond to challenges in the information security space, to streamline operations, and to create additional efficiencies. Vacant positions will be posted shortly to jobs.berkeley.edu and to our website.
Even outside the traditional "Holiday" season we find ourselves purchasing items online. And so, it's good to remember online shopping best practices year round. In addition to our holiday shopping tips, here are a few others to keep you safe while online shopping:
We wanted to mark the occasion by talking with him about what he learned while at ISO.
I love this time of year; the air gets crisp, the leaves start to turn, and I get to wear sweaters all the time. However, the thought of leaving the house to battle the crowds elicits panic level 12. Perhaps that's why online shopping is gaining even more popularity. An estimated 165.8 million people shopped between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday in 2018!
There will be some changes coming to information security policies at Berkeley brought on by a major update to the UC systemwide information security policy (IS-3). The revision brings sweeping changes to the way information security risk is handled on Campus.
A vulnerability has been discovered in Exim, which could allow for unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary system commands on the mail server. Exim is a mail transfer agent used to deploy mail servers on Unix-like systems. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability will enable the attacker to perform command execution as root in the context of the mail server. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.
Passwords! What a headache, am I right? Sometimes it seems like that in order to be safe, your password must contain letters, numbers, punctuation, bird noises, and at least one Egyptian hieroglyph.
But the truth is that it’s easier to create a long, strong, safe password than most people think. Let’s take a quick look at a few tips for making a password that will keep your account safe.
(Only those old enough to remember the Wrigley's doublemint gum commercials will get this title.)
“Multi-factor authentication” is a tech industry term for using different types of verification to get into an account. You do this daily with the 2-Step. The idea is that you use multiple things at the same time to really prove that you’re actually you. A password is one example of a factor; a fingerprint is another.
How easy is it to shop online? (Rhetorical question there.) It’s so convenient to be able to order anything you like and have it delivered right to your door. Unfortunately, that also means there’s more risk. Scammers and criminals can try to steal your information and money while you shop online.
The good news is that there are some easy things you can do to protect yourself and safely shop online. Let’s take a quick look at some tips:
Software updates are sort of like exercise: Not everyone thinks about it, but everyone needs it, and they can make a big difference in keeping a system healthy. Let’s take a quick minute to talk about updates.
Wi-Fi is great. Think about it, you pretty much carry an entire library and a direct line to anywhere in the world in your pocket. Nowadays many businesses offer Wi-Fi for their customers, so you can stay connected even while eating udon or waiting in line for toast.
But! That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Using public Wi-Fi is sort of like doing, well, anything else in public: you want to be safe and not accidentally wander into trouble. Let’s talk about what you can do to protect yourself on Wi-Fi.
This October, UC Berkeley is once again joining other universities, the National Cyber Security Alliance, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help raise cyber security awareness during National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM).
File-sharing can heighten risks to you and the University. As an Internet Service Provider (under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act), UC Berkeley does not monitor its networks for the purpose of discoveringillegal activity. However, we act to make sure that Copyright, especially as it applies to digital assets, is respected within the Campus community.
