Information Security
Information Security, also known as InfoSec, protects both physical and digital data—essentially data in any form—from unauthorized access, use, change, disclosure, deletion, or other forms of malintent.
You can help protect yourself by staying informed of the latest threats, following our Cybersafe tips, reviewing past threats, and reviewing previous CISO Update.
Cybersecurity News
Unemployment Scam
There has been an increase in fraudulent unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you believe your information was used, please view the July 30, 2020, Fraudulent Unemployment Claim message from Human Resources.
Please view the April 22, 2021, Second Notice – Continuing Unemployment Insurance Scam and Fraud message from Human Resources to learn more about how this fraud is perpetrated and what FIT is doing to protect you.
Introducing 2FA at FIT
Due to the rising levels of cyberattacks that have been so visible in the media, it is important that FIT and the FIT community take the necessary steps to better protect the college and its data from cyber harm or theft.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) also known as 2-Step Verification, or multi-factor authentication requires a user to present two or more pieces of evidence to authenticate (verify their identity) before they are granted access to an application.
In this short video, Walter Kerner, FIT’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), explains the importance of two-factor authentication
FIT is Cybersafe is FIT’s campaign for cybersecurity for our community.
Cyberattacks, identity theft, and online scams are all over the news lately. A school might not seem like a likely target, but colleges, along with other institutions, are increasingly in the cross-hairs of global cybercriminals. College databases hold a lot of personal information about students and employees that can be valuable to hackers.
Many attacks against institutions like FIT succeed because of something a community member did (clicking on something they shouldn’t) or didn’t do (use a strong password). That’s why we’re starting a campaign to make everyone aware of what they can do to stay cybersafe. We’ll provide tips, training, and online resources and members of our security team will be at campus events to promote awareness and answer questions. And remember the same practices that protect you at FIT protect you at home.
Be aware—and Be Cybersafe!
Latest Threats
Tax Refund Phish
What happened?Over the weekend and this morning, FIT (and many of our peer SUNY campuses) received emails from several senders all purporting to represent the IRS, with a subject line of “Recalculating Your Tax Refund Payment.” The emails contained a click button that brings users to a site that looks like an IRS.gov site, but […]
Beware of Pell Grant Phishing Campaign
What happened?An advisory has just been released by one the Higher Education cybersecurity communication groups alerting us to two phishing campaigns targeting students using the lure of the Pell Grant. The first one attempts to contact students by text message, a form of phishing called “SMiShing,” congratulating them on their acceptance into the Pell Grant Award […]
Office 365 Phish Spoofing FIT Domain
What happened?We have just been made aware that some FIT employees and students have received three different phishing emails appearing with the subject lines “You have 5 new held messages 12/17/2020“, “Mailbox quota notification for,” and “Notice: Account Update.” All three emails pretended to be related to Office 365 and, in some cases, were spoofing […]
Review Past Threats
Cybercriminals often reuse or create a variation of past scams, read through our threat archives to learn more about how to stay Cybersafe.
Where in the world is attacking FIT?
The map shows countries from which we have seen and blocked actual cyberattacks aimed at FIT. We’ll keep it updated as we discover more. As you can see, cybercrimes are a world-wide problem.
Self-Service Articles
