[IS&T Security-FYI] SFYI Newsletter, July 23, 2013

[Monique Yeaton]

In this issue:


1. Research Universities Subject to Cyber Attacks

2. Social Media Security Tips

3. Event: Security Camp @ BU on August 22nd



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1. Research Universities Subject to Cyber Attacks

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According to the New York Times, leading US research universities have been subject to millions of hacking attempts on a weekly basis. Professors at these universities, including MIT, receive thousands of patents each year in areas such as prescription drugs, computer chips, fuel cells, aircraft, medical devices, food production and more.


Bill Mellon of the University of Wisconsin told the Times they get 90,000 to 100,000 hacking attempts per day, from China alone, to penetrate their system.


Although it is difficult to track where the attacks are coming from, US government officials, security experts and university and corporate officials say that China is clearly the leading source of efforts to steal information. Other suspected countries are Russia and Vietnam.


A growing number of schools no longer allow their professors to take their laptops and smart phones to certain countries for fear of the information being copied or malware being planted in hopes that the device is taken home and connected to a network, allowing the thieves to get in.


Read this story online<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/education/barrage-of-cyberattacks-challenges-campus-culture.html>.



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2. Social Media Security Tips

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There are various ways you can get scammed or, at the least, embarrassed if you don't follow general security practices when using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Don't worry, if it happened to you, you're not the only one. The Associated Press, Burger King and The Onion have all recently had their Twitter accounts hacked. Various celebrities have had their Facebook accounts hijacked. They are then used to spread misinformation or to post links that lead to malware.


Twitter recently implemented two-factor authentication to crack down on the problem. No word yet on whether Facebook will follow suit. Facebook does offer something called Login Approvals<https://www.facebook.com/help/www/148233965247823>, its version of two-factor authentication, to protect users from takeover attempts of their account.


To learn more on protecting accounts and preventing scams, go to the companies' security guidelines pages:


  *   Security on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/about/security> and Desktop Help/Security<https://www.facebook.com/help/www/131719720300233/> (Facebook)
  *   Safe Tweeting<https://support.twitter.com/articles/76036-keeping-your-account-secure> (Twitter)



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3. Event: Security Camp @ BU on August 22nd

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Boston University will once again be hosting the free, one-day Security Camp conference. The date is Thursday, August 22, 2013. Please mark your calendars if interested.


This conference is for system, network, and security administrators and security managers. The goal is to provide a forum where these staff in higher education can share and benefit from collective experiences.


More information on Security Camp at Boston University is here<http://www.bu.edu/tech/security/services/security-events-training/camp/>.



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Read all Security FYI Newsletter articles and submit comments online at http://securityfyi.wordpress.com/.

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Monique Yeaton
IT Security Communications Consultant
MIT Information Services & Technology (IS&T)
(617) 253-2715
http://ist.mit.edu/security


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