Information Security

Secure UD 2017

To equip and empower employees to defend themselves and the University against cybercrime, UD IT offers Secure UD Training. Released in two phases each year, this modular, online, self-paced program helps employees across the University, regardless of technical background, understand and protect against the risks of the digital age.

Phase II of the 2017 Secure UD Training program was released in October during National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Over 1,600 UD employees have started or finished Phase II of their 2017 Secure UD Training. UD employees who have not yet done so should complete their training today.

2017 also marked the launch of the Secure UD "Take a BITE out of phish!" campaign, a phishing awareness enhancement to Secure UD Training.

Cybersecurity experts warn that phishing attacks—malicious emails to trick potential victims into revealing information or compromising security—are rising in both prevalence and sophistication. Hackers rely on phishing because it manipulates human nature by exploiting the impulse to help, the fear of reprisal, or the desire to fit in. A successful phishing attack allows a hacker to bypass an organization’s security technologies and access critically sensitive information or systems. For example, many attackers masquerade as a high-ranking official at an organization to request money transfers or copies of W-2 forms.

"Take a BITE out of phish!" helps University employees recognize the warning signs of a phishing attack and take action to protect themselves, our community, and the University.

Each month, a randomly-selected sample of employees receive a harmless test phish. The tests are non-punitive, focusing on resources to help University employees defend themselves against one of the most pervasive forms of cybercrime.

Employees who receive suspicious emails should forward them to reportaphish@udel.edu.

Secure UD 2018: a look ahead

To better combat the cyberattacks targeting the UD community, the University refreshes Secure UD Training annually. Every year, employees are strongly encouraged to complete each new phase of training as it becomes available. Completing Secure UD Training helps employees recognize phishing attacks, identity theft scams, and other dangers.

As with last year’s training, 2018 Secure UD Training will be released in two phases:

• Phase I of 2018 Secure UD Training will be released at the beginning of March and will remain available until the end of September.
• Phase II of 2018 Secure UD Training will be released at the beginning of October and will remain available until early 2019.

Employees have until the end of February to complete their 2017 Secure UD Training. Department heads may request a report of training completion within their units by emailing secadmin@udel.edu.

Be sure to read Secure UD News, emailed to all University employees, and the Secure UD Threat Alerts blog to stay up to date on your personal and workplace security.