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April 16, 2021

Why Reusing Passwords is a Bad Idea

"I have a really great passphrase, it's long and easy to remember, so I use it on all my accounts."

Sound familiar? Why is it so hard for us to abandon this idea that reusing passphrases is a bad idea? Well, we're humans and humans tend to rationalize to confirm our decisions. "What are the chances that someone will get my password and compromise my account, I mean, will that really happen to me?" Well, it turns out it does - and more frequently that you might imagine.

April 5, 2021

UC Email Security Incident Notice

Updated May 11, 2021:

UCOP Notice to UC Community: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/data-security/index.html

Updated Apr. 15, 2021:

March 31, 2021

IRS Warning of Impersonation Attacks Targeting Universities

Mar. 31st - The Internal Revenue Service issued a warning of an ongoing IRS-impersonation scam that appears to primarily target educational institutions, including students and staff who have ".edu" email addresses. The phishing emails appear to target university and college students from both public and private, profit and non-profit institutions.

The fraudulent email displays the IRS logo and uses various subject lines such as "Tax Refund Payment" or "Recalculation of your tax refund payment." It asks people to click a link and submit a form to claim their refund. 

February 19, 2021

PHISHING EXAMPLE: UPDATE EMAIL: Don't lose access to your account!!
Security Notice! Dear XXXX, Our security system has detected some irregular activity connected to your account. you will be unable to send and recieve emails until this issue has been resolved CLICK HERE TO VALIDATE NOW To prevent further irregular activity we will restrict access to your account within 72 hours if you did not validate your account. *Note:* Mail Administrator will always keep you posted of security updates. Mail Admin

February 11, 2021

Microsoft Patches for CVE-2021-24074 and CVE-2021-24094
This month Microsoft released patches for multiple serious vulnerabilities in the Windows TCP/IP network stack (including CVE-2021-24074, CVE-2021-24094)[1,2]. These vulnerabilities can allow for remote code execution. Additionally, Microsoft appears to have released patches for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 which are officially no longer supported.

January 26, 2021

Buffer Overflow in Sudo - Root Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (CVE-2021-3156)
A serious heap-based buffer overflow has been discovered in sudo that is exploitable by any local user. The flaw can be leveraged to elevate privileges to root, even if the user is not listed in the sudoers file. User authentication is not required to exploit the flaw. Researchers have developed working exploits against Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora Linux distributions. Other UNIX-based operating systems and distributions are also likely to be exploitable. [1] [2]

November 30, 2020

Phishing Example: RE: at the office
, I will come to Uc Regents; soon and send your request about 2 weeks of vacation and payments to you. Very sorry. Open this recourse to preview the document (if the link doesn't work, copy it and paste to browser): hxxps://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQeBPGXB5xGJ9m7RA7RGTEFgpWSAbr-nlOeOYerk4PG0IM_-6b148qM8RUERKw1GhKG5Z5rQpiUaSEF/pub Outsourcing director notice
Phishing Example: 2020 FACULTY EVALUATION
Google Forms Jim Knowlton invited you to fill out a form: 2020 FACULTY EVALUATION Designed for Microsoft and Office 365 users only FILL OUT FORM hxxps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfUCvno3DdViZI24_kfsFi7EPalW7aAMJIAZvsGCzvvrQX_Ew/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0&usp=mail_form_link Create your own Google Form
Phishing Example: ELIGIBILITY AND ASSESSMENT
Google Forms Jim Knowlton has shared a file with you using one drive. ELIGIBILITY AND ASSESSMENT Designed for Microsoft and office 365 users only FILL OUT FORM hxxps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd2hyLMl01_lJ9NG2Aj4QxXJrQ1ChJ42W0Ubx-FHIu8iT4QSA/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0&usp=mail_form_link Create your own Google Form
Phishing Example: RE: staff opinion
Good day, Please, answer the questions Employee Survey – it won`t take long. Waiting for you to go through this survey ASAP. You can find the survey here: hxxps://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSjKdTddXL-psR2rYotGSJuwOeBHUKkulbrhy78PHX6VtdJWFurH9mEmeV8PLVm1t4P5W0msKzpCg3N/pub HR Department Analyst Uc Regents;

November 4, 2020

Multiple Vulnerabilities in Google Chrome Browser
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Google Chrome browser, the most severe of which could allow for arbitrary code execution. We recommend immediately updating your Google Chrome browser to Version 86.0.4240.183

October 21, 2020

New Patches Available for Google Chrome Browser
Google has released Chrome version 86.0.4240.111 to apply security fixes, including a patch for an actively exploited zero-day vulnerability. We recommend that users patch immediately. Normally updates happen in the background, but if you haven't closed your browser in a while, you might see a pending update

October 15, 2020

Congrats to Our Staff Security Intern Graduates
The second round of our Security Internship Program has ended and we are pleased to congratulate Ilona Ozmon and Kris Beltran for graduating from the program.
Windows Vulnerability - CVE-2020-16898
A serious vulnerability exists in the Windows TCP/IP network stack [1,2]. Currently, it is known that this vulnerability can be used to trigger a Denial of Service (DoS) event, however, Microsoft and others are warning that it may also be possible to remotely execute code. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted ICMPv6 Router Advertisement to the target system. The vulnerability does not require authentication or user-interaction.

October 5, 2020

Phishing Example: BERKELEY UNIVERSITY WORK FROM SCHOOL OR HOME PART TIME FALL 2020
Dear student! I'm Professor Douglas Ignacio. Senior Policy Advisor at the Student Unemployment Assistance Program (SUAP).SUAP is committed to provide significant benefits for students who are currently unemployed or who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 Pandemic to have equal right and opportunity, to be economically self-sufficient, and to earn and save without jeopardizing access to the services and supports that allow them to live and work independently. You have received this email because you have an offer from the University Education Department Office for unemployed students to work with me as my temporary Online Virtual Assistance. typical Duties: You will only help me mail letters if need be, make online bill payments and sometimes at the retail stores, purchase some items when necessary. You

September 4, 2020

Phishing Example: Security Notice - Fix Security Info Now
Dear berkeley.edu member, As a precautionary measure we have restricted access to your account until your validate has been changed . To prevent further irregular activity, you will be unable to send out any emails unties issue has been resolved To fix security info, click below to validate.

September 3, 2020

Phishing Example: (ITCS Notification:) Account Irregular Activity Detected [INC1147653]
UC Berkeley | IT Client Services Hello, This is an automated official communication from Berkeley IT Client Services Ticket system in reference to the incident number below. Ticket INC1147653 has been created from the recent activities in your CalNet - ID credentials. ITCS system have detected an irregular activity related to your UC Berkeley CalNet ID credentials. As a precautionary measure, we will temporary block your account and should be moving it to our backup server but we need your help to do this effectively otherwise you may lose your login information and data at the end of the Duo Account Migration & Quarantine clean-up process.

August 27, 2020

Department of Homeland Security: Beware Fake Election Websites

The FBI has reported an increase in suspicious websites popping up that look like official election websites but are in fact fraudulent. These sites have multiple purposes:

August 18, 2020

Preventing Social Engineering Attacks
Social Engineering criminals focus their attention at attacking people as opposed to infrastructure. Social engineering begins with research; an attacker may look for publicly available information that they can use against you. These attacks can come in a variety of formats: email, voicemail, SMS messages, DMs, or via social media and attempt to prey on your respect for authority, courtesy, or trust.

August 13, 2020

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 End of Life
Every Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) product has a life cycle and that life cycle ends when it no longer receives security updates or fixes, software updates, and/or technical support. On Nov. 30, 2020 Red Hat will discontinue support for RHEL 6. Campus policy requires that devices connected to the network run software for which security patches are made available and installed in a timely fashion. After support ends, RHEL 6 will no longer be in compliance with campus policy.