Information Security

Mission Statement

The Information Security Office is committed to lowering the risk profile of the University’s electronic information by implementing industry best practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of student, faculty, and staff information. We uphold the University’s compliance obligations by developing information security policies, providing security awareness training, and overseeing the implementation of strategic information security initiatives.

Scam of the Week

This LinkedIn Warning is a Phishing Trap

In this week's scam, you post on LinkedIn and then receive what appears to be an official reply from LinkedIn's website. The reply appears as a comment on your post and warns that your account has been temporarily restricted because you've violated the platform's policies. It contains the LinkedIn logo and instructs you to select a link to resolve the issue and regain access to your account.

But this “official” comment is actually fake! Even though the logo and alarming message about a policy violation seem real, the reply you received is actually from a cybercriminal. If you select the link in the comment, you’ll be directed to a fake webpage that contains a Verify your identity button. If you select the button and enter your username and password, cybercriminals will steal both your login information and your account!

Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to a phishing scam:

Remember that LinkedIn will never communicate policy violations through public comments on your posts.
Be suspicious of comments that use alarming language or threaten account suspension. Cybercriminals often try to create a sense of urgency to trick you into clicking without thinking.
If you encounter suspicious comments or replies that impersonate LinkedIn, report them immediately so the platform can take appropriate action and protect other users.

Time It Takes a Hacker to Brute Force Your Password in 2023

Number of Characters	Number Only	Lowercase Letters	Upper and Lower Case Letters	Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters	Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters, Symbols
4	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly
5	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly
6	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly
7	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly
8	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	1 sec
9	Instantly	Instantly	4 secs	21 secs	1 min
10	Instantly	Instantly	4 mins	22 mins	1 hour
11	Instantly	6 secs	3 hours	22 hours	4 days
12	Instantly	2 mins	7 days	2 months	8 months
13	Instantly	1 hour	12 months	10 years	47 years
14	Instantly	1 day	52 years	608 years	3k years
15	2 secs	4 weeks	2k years	37k years	232k years
16	15 secs	2 years	140k years	2m years	16m years
17	3 mins	56 years	7m years	144m years	1bn years
18	26 mins	1k years	378m years	8bn years	79bn years