Security Portal

Phishing Emails are a common identity theft scheme. Phishing occurs when cybercriminals create FAKE EMAILS that appear to be from trusted organizations or people and attempt to get you to; provide your confidential information, give them your username & password, download or open a malicious attachment

Here are four ways to identify phishing:

1. The sender's address appears to be illegitimate
2. The email asks you to confirm personal information
3. The email contains spelling and grammatical errors
4. There are suspicious links or attachments in the email

When in doubt... report the email as phishing using the "Report Message" add-on in Outlook.

What is a Passphrase?

A passphrase is a sentence or group of words formed to create a password. This method makes your passphrase easier to remember and harder for an attacker to crack.

Use Strong Passphrases

• Turn your short password into a long passphrase! It is harder to crack for hackers, but easier to remember for the user

Here are several example on how to create an easy to remember passphrase

• Create a formula and fill in the blanks
• Ask a question
• Use a song lyric or quote
• Find out how secure your passphrase is?

Change Passphrases Frequently

• Security best practice is to change your passphrase frequently
• Refrain from writing your password down anywhere, instead, consider using a passphrase manager
• Here at Central, you will need to change your password every 180 days

• What is a Passphrase Manager? A passphrase manager is capable of creating and storing your passwords. Passphrase managers remove the difficulty of remembering, not only your complicated login credentials, but also your credit-card information, answers to security questions, and much more. All of this information is easily accessible only to you, with one secure password.
• Are Passphrase Managers Secure? Yes! All reputable passphrase managers use the strongest encryption available to protect personal information. The master passphrase is not stored on your computer or on their servers, only you know the master passphrase. To access this manager, the master passphrase is required each time to ensure the login is legitimate. Also, most passphrase managers have the option of enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which even strengthens security of the login process.
• What Are The Best Passphrase Managers? Dashlane (Free), KeePass (Free), LastPass (Free), Sticky Password (Free), 1Password (Paid).

Welcome to the SANS Tip of the Day site. Each day we post a new tip that focuses on and explains a specific topic and actionable steps people can take to protect themselves, their family and their organization.

EDUCASE - Security Matters is the main source for everything related to information security, privacy, and risk in higher education.

WaTech's State Office of Cybersecurity (OCS) provides a strategic direction for cybersecurity and protects the state government network from growing cyber threats... Our office also is working to make everyone more aware of cyber threats through educational outreach, holding public forums and providing tips and advice about how to stay safe online. Our Mission: To keep the state's data safe and secure.