To coincide with National Cyber Security Awareness Month, University of Delaware Information Technologies (UD IT) will release the second and final phase of 2017 Secure UD Training for UD employees during the first week of October. Employees are encouraged to complete their Phase I training before the end of September.

Secure UD Training is a security awareness resource for University employees. It empowers employees by equipping them with the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and our community from cyberthreats. Its modular, online, self-paced design makes it easy to complete during lunches or between emails, and the skills it cultivates are applicable throughout your life, whether at home, in the office, or abroad.

Almost 1,600 employees have already started or completed Phase I of 2017 Secure UD Training. If you haven't already done so, join your colleagues by getting started with Secure UD Training today.

Employees who complete the new Phase II modules in October will automatically earn a chance to win a NCSAM prize.

Department heads may request reports of Secure UD Training completion within their units by emailing secadmin@udel.edu.

Take action! Complete Phase I of your 2017 Secure UD Training while it's available.

Throughout October, the University will celebrate NCSAM with weekly UDaily articles highlighting important security topics for both daily and work life. IT will also host a prize drawing to thank those who demonstrate their commitment to our community's security throughout October.

NCSAM is a joint effort between the United States Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to educate the public about safe computing and information practices. The 14th annual NCSAM is a campaign to educate the public about maintaining safety and security while using electronic devices, especially online. Throughout October, the government and more than 1,000 public and private organizations nationwide will champion cyber security.

Employees can earn chances to win NCSAM prizes by

1. completing Phase II of 2017 Secure UD Training in October, and
2. forwarding October's Secure UD "Take a BITE out of phish!" email to reportaphish@udel.edu.

Take action! Follow UDaily for more information about NCSAM.

The Secure UD "Take a BITE out of phish!" campaign is an enhancement to Secure UD Training. Each month, a randomly-selected sample of employees will be presented with a harmless test phish that mimics the real attacks being launched against the University community. The tests are non-punitive, but employees are strongly encouraged to treat all suspicious emails as potentially dangerous.

August's campaign featured a test phish similar in complexity to the one used in July. Our community demonstrated a dramatic improvement in awareness; almost 70% fewer recipients clicked on the suspicious link in August than in July.

As phishing attacks continue to grow and target people, organizations, and countries across the world, the importance of security awareness cannot be understated. Your continued watchfulness helps safeguard our community against attackers. If you have any doubts about an email, or if you think you've received a phish, forward it to reportaphish@udel.edu.

Be sure to take advantage of other awareness resources, including Secure UD Training and the Secure UD Threat Alerts blog (where you can find annotated versions of both test phish and real phishing attacks), and remember:

"Take a BITE out of phish"

• Be aware of the threat
• Identify the warning signs
• Tell us about suspicious messages
• Erase phish from your inbox

Employees who identify and forward October's test phish to reportaphish@udel.edu will automatically earn a chance to win a NCSAM prize.

Department heads may request phishing tests or Secure UD Training reports for their units, by emailing secadmin@udel.edu.

Take action! Help protect yourself and our community by forwarding suspicious emails to reportaphish@udel.edu.