A couple of recent phishing scams, referred to as a “Business Email Compromise (BEC),” have been targeting universities to steal funds through the purchasing process.
The first phishing scam targets suppliers that do business with campus by using Berkeley emails as the hook. These attacks involve purchase orders and requests for quotes that appear to come from the University, but are in fact fraudulent.
Be Alert:
Starting March 11th services that use Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) will require CalNet 2-Step Authentication.
Examples of software include CalShare and Microsoft 365.
A highly critical bug has been discovered in Drupal that can be used for remote code execution [1]. Drupal is a Content Management System (CMS) commonly used to host websites. In the past this sort of exploit has been used to deliver remote access tools, ransomware, and cryptominers to web servers [2]. Based on similar exploits against various CMS software in the past, we can expect that attackers will begin exploiting this software quickly.
Reserve your seat at DataEDGE 2019, the UC Berkeley School of Information's annual data science conference scheduled for April 23, 2019.
We are excited to announce that the Information Security and Policy Office is launching a Security Internship Program for staff. This is a unique opportunity for employees to work alongside the Security Operations and Assessments & Compliance teams. The internship is a chance for current Berkeley employees to develop a professional skill set in the information security domain and achieve breadth and depth of knowledge in the field. Interns will strengthen their career path potential, network with new colleagues, and contribute to the campus mission.
Open Containers runc is prone to a local command-execution vulnerability. Runc is a command line utility designed to spawn container systems. It is the container runtime that underpins many open source container management systems including Docker, Kubernetes, containerd, Podman, and CRI-O. [1] [3]
We all exist in digital form on the Internet. While online you leave a trail of your digital self in the form of cookies, GPS data, social media posts, browser searches, email exchanges... the list goes on. Your footprint is vast and once something is online, it can be there forever.
That’s what Data Privacy Day is all about. Recognizing that owning your online presence will help to protect your identity, finances, and reputation – both now and in the future.
A widely reported spear phishing scam, termed “Business Email Compromise (BEC),” has been targeting universities and other academic institutions. These attacks are spear phishing scams designed to impersonate someone you know in an attempt to gain access to sensitive information or to encourage you to transfer funds or provide gift cards. There has been an increase of these assaults across the University this new year.
Microsoft just published an out-of-band patch for Internet Explorer. It fixes a memory corruption vulnerability in the scripting engine. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2018-8653.
When successfully exploited, Internet Explorer could execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. To exploit the vulnerability, the victim must just visit a malicious web page delivered through a phishing email or social engineering. [1]
The goal of National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) – celebrated every October – is to ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online. Check out these offerings to find an event near you, or a webinar of interest.
***highlighted event***
Oct 16, 11AM-1PM
UCOP Cyber Security Awareness Month Forum
UCOP, 1111 Franklin St., Oakland, CA, Lobby 1 Conference Room
To our campus community,
We are implementing some necessary updates to our Wi-Fi network that will require some action on your part. On Oct. 2, 2018 at 7 a.m., the Airbears2 and eduroam wireless networks will be updated with a new certificate. After this update is complete, devices attempting to connect to either wireless network will be presented with a message similar to one of the three examples shown below (message will vary based on the device and operating system you are using):
Example 1: MacOS X 10.13 (MacBook Air)
A critical remote code execution vulnerability has been discovered in Apache Struts, a popular open source framework for developing web applications in the Java programming language. [1] In the past, Apache Struts RCE vulnerabilities have been weaponized in less than 24 hours -- one of which resulted in the Equifax breach that totaled over $600 million in cost. [2]
A vulnerability has been discovered in Oracle Database that could allow for complete compromise of the database, as well as shell access to the underlying server. [1] . The vulnerability resides in the Java Virtual Machine component of the Oracle Database Server and does not require user interaction. The vulnerability allows low-privileged attackers that have Create Session privilege with network access via Oracle Net to compromise the Java VM component.
If you an IT Security professional and want to join a talented and dynamic team, check out our available job openings at: https://security.berkeley.edu/about/job-postings
NSF’s new Research Terms and Conditions (effective March 1, 2018) require recipients of NSF funding to protect Personally Identifiable Information within the scope of an NSF award. Article 35 states:
The Campus Policy for Minimum Security Standards for Electronic Information (MSSEI) [1] requires departments to register computer systems and applications containing restricted data. Restricted Data is defined as "any confidential or personal information that is protected by law or policy, and that requires the highest level of access control and security protections whether in storage or in transit" [2] and further refined based on adverse business impact into "High" or Protection Level 2 and "Moderate" or Protection Level 1. [3]