Notable Increase in Phishing Email Attempts

As we close out the end of the academic and calendar year, we want to remind you that cybersecurity remains a top priority for the University. Every campus stakeholder is part of the first line of defense against malicious activity that can cripple our networks and systems, and that defense often begins with common sense. 

We remind you to be vigilant about suspicious or unfamiliar emails and senders. Recently, systems within the IKEA corporation were compromised by a third-party phishing attack spread by internal users on the company’s Microsoft email network

While Howard showcased great resilience in response to our own ransomware attack earlier this year, we are taking every precaution to limit the capability of infiltration attempts against our network in the future. We have restored access to all our major University online applications, deployed a robust repair and replace campaign for University-issued computers and devices, and have restored many of our servers and protocols that are central to our academic, human resources, and research operations. 

All these efforts are time and cost-consuming and can be for naught without the diligence of network users. We encourage everyone to practice sound digital citizenship. We ask that you remain watchful of unfamiliar email senders and links that are not from University officials and offices. Please report any suspected phishing attempts to huhelpdesk@howard.edu.
 
Thank you for your care and protection of our digital environment.

Categories

ETS News