News

May 23, 2016

Phishing Example: Vital Info
Another targeted phishing message, this one has been spoofed to appear to come from the Office of the Registrar.

May 20, 2016

Phishing Example: bCourses Phish Attack
Several people on campus reported this targeted phishing message concerning access to bCourses. The message was signed by a fictitious member of the Security department.

May 17, 2016

WARNING: Ransomware Attacks on the Rise

The US-CERT (US Computer Emergency Readiness Team) has issued a recent alert concerning ransomware.  Ransomware is a type of malicious software that infects a computer and restricts users’ access to it until a ransom is paid to unlock it.  The alert warns that in early 2016, destructive ransomware variants such as

May 10, 2016

Google Analytics and Changes to Our Privacy Policy
ISP has enabled Google Analytics so that we can better learn how people use our website. As a result, our privacy policy has been updated.

May 5, 2016

Multiple Vulnerabilities in ImageMagick (CVE-2016-3714)
Multiple Vulnerabilities have been discovered in ImageMagick, an open-source software library for displaying, converting, and editing a wide range of image types. Attackers may be able to execute arbitrary code remotely by exploiting this vulnerability.

April 28, 2016

"Locky" Ransomware Delivered via Email Attachments
Information Security and Policy has received confirmed reports of recent attempts to deliver the "Locky" family of Ransomware via malicious email attachments. Campus users are advised to be vigilant as Ransomware like Locky can be extremely destructive. Please review the full security alert for guidance.

March 22, 2016

Phishing Example: PayPal - We need your help
This is an example of how phishing messages can be made to look like they are from a legitimate business, such as PayPal. However, poor grammar and other indicators make this an easy phish to spot.

March 14, 2016

Phishing Example: RE: Notice from @rescue.org
A phishing message purporting to be from the International Rescue Committee regarding IT maintenance has been circulating on campus. The message requests that the recipient upgrade their mailbox size by selecting a link that redirects to a malicious website.

March 13, 2016

Phishing Example: Last Reminder You Must Update Your Apple Account Information!
An email message purporting to be from Apple Support, requesting that the recipient verify their account information, has been seen in several variations on campus.

March 10, 2016

Adobe Flash Player Multiple Zero-Day Vulnerabilities (CVE-2016-1010)
Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player that addresses multiple, critical vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to take control of an affected system. Microsoft has released an out-of-band patch for Adobe Flash Player when on all supported editions of Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, and Windows 10.

March 4, 2016

Phishing Example: Help Desk Notice
This phish is an example of how poorly most culprits have taken steps to disguise the message - it is often the case that phishing messages are originally drafted for another school or school district.

March 2, 2016

DROWN attack on TLS using servers supporting SSLv2 (CVE-2016-0800)
The OpenSSL development team published a security advisory regarding high-impact TLS/SSL vulnerabilities, which could allow an attacker to decrypt TLS sessions by using a server supporting legacy ciphers (CVE-2016-0800).

February 22, 2016

Phishing Example: Google Docs Download
This phish example attempts to trick the recipient into clicking on a link to a malicious website by purporting to be a link to download a Google doc.
Phishing Example: UCOP Spear Phish Attack
A targeted phishing message was received at both Berkeley and UCLA campuses that was purportedly from the UC Office of the President requesting an employee's W2 form.

February 21, 2016

Phishing Example: ITunes Access Disabled
Another example of a common ploy to trick the recipient into clicking a link to a malicious website by claiming access to ITunes has been disabled.

February 18, 2016

Glibc getaddrinfo stack-based buffer overflow (CVE-2015-7547)
The glibc (since version 2.9) DNS client side resolver is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow when the getaddrinfo() library function is used. Software using this function may be remotely exploited with attacker-controlled domain names, attacker-controlled DNS servers, or through a man-in-the-middle attack.

February 9, 2016

Phishing Example: "Dear Email User" Expired Password Ploy
An example of a common phishing ploy - a notice that your email password will expire, with a link to change the password that leads to a malicious website.

February 8, 2016

Beware of Tax Scams

As the year's tax deadline approaches, tax scams start ratcheting up, especially by phone.  Some of the most common scams involve con-artists who pretend to be from the IRS and call victims telling them they have to pay right now, or else. 

Don't believe it - the IRS has formal processes in place for people with tax issues and harassing calls like these are not how the IRS does business.  The IRS will NEVER:

February 2, 2016

Phishing Example: IT-Service Help Desk "Password Update"
Another example of a phish that attempts to trick the user to click on a link to a malicious website by claiming their password will expire otherwise. This one purports to come from the IT-Service Help Desk.

January 18, 2016

Phishing Example: U.S. Dept. of Labor "Record Update"
Campus was the target of a phishing email purporting to be from the U.S. Dept of Labor and asking for users to update their employment records. Beware of emails with the subject line "Record Update".