%PDF-1.3 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R ] /Count 1 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 16 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Creator (DOMPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250719132852+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250719132852+00'00') /Title (Report 07-2025) >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /Parent 3 0 R /Annots [ 12 0 R 14 0 R ] /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Length 9179 >> stream 0.702 0.800 0.816 rg 34.016 34.016 543.969 723.969 re f 1.000 1.000 1.000 rg 45.266 174.779 521.469 571.955 re f 0.773 0.773 0.773 RG 0.75 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 45.641 175.154 520.719 571.205 re S 0.773 0.773 0.773 rg 61.016 190.529 m 550.984 190.529 l 550.984 191.279 l 61.016 191.279 l f 0.200 0.200 0.200 rg BT 61.016 693.716 Td /F1 14.4 Tf [(CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS MONTH: CREATING STRONG )] TJ ET BT 61.016 676.134 Td /F1 14.4 Tf [(PASSWORDS)] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg BT 61.016 647.326 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(Posted on )] TJ ET BT 104.045 647.326 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(May 10,2021)] TJ ET BT 156.578 647.326 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [( by )] TJ ET BT 171.086 647.326 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(David Wiles)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 rg BT 61.016 619.837 Td 1.096 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(Before)] TJ ET 0.373 0.169 0.255 RG 0.18 w 0 J [ ] 0 d 61.016 618.686 m 87.530 618.686 l S 0.153 0.153 0.153 rg BT 87.530 619.837 Td 1.096 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(we pointed out that most people underestimate the importance of having a secure password, and still make the )] TJ ET BT 61.016 608.848 Td 0.000 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(mistake of using simple words and numbers as a password.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 588.859 Td 0.566 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(Keep in mind that your email and social network accounts contain very personal information about you. You must have a )] TJ ET BT 61.016 577.870 Td 0.000 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(strong password to keep your personal life personal, and not become a victim of identity theft.)] TJ ET 0.153 0.153 0.153 RG 85.866 560.697 m 85.866 561.110 85.696 561.520 85.404 561.811 c 85.113 562.103 84.703 562.272 84.291 562.272 c 83.878 562.272 83.469 562.103 83.177 561.811 c 82.885 561.520 82.716 561.110 82.716 560.697 c 82.716 560.285 82.885 559.875 83.177 559.584 c 83.469 559.292 83.878 559.122 84.291 559.122 c 84.703 559.122 85.113 559.292 85.404 559.584 c 85.696 559.875 85.866 560.285 85.866 560.697 c f BT 91.016 557.881 Td 1.403 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(Using email or your profile on Facebook, Whatsapp or Google, hackers can and do, extract a huge amount of )] TJ ET BT 91.016 546.892 Td 0.000 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(personal data of your personal "online" life.)] TJ ET 85.866 538.719 m 85.866 539.132 85.696 539.542 85.404 539.833 c 85.113 540.125 84.703 540.294 84.291 540.294 c 83.878 540.294 83.469 540.125 83.177 539.833 c 82.885 539.542 82.716 539.132 82.716 538.719 c 82.716 538.307 82.885 537.897 83.177 537.606 c 83.469 537.314 83.878 537.144 84.291 537.144 c 84.703 537.144 85.113 537.314 85.404 537.606 c 85.696 537.897 85.866 538.307 85.866 538.719 c f BT 91.016 535.903 Td 0.513 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(If you use the same password for multiple online accounts, you run the risk, if this password is hacked, of all your )] TJ ET BT 91.016 524.914 Td 0.000 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(online accounts being compromised.)] TJ ET 85.866 516.741 m 85.866 517.154 85.696 517.564 85.404 517.855 c 85.113 518.147 84.703 518.316 84.291 518.316 c 83.878 518.316 83.469 518.147 83.177 517.855 c 82.885 517.564 82.716 517.154 82.716 516.741 c 82.716 516.329 82.885 515.919 83.177 515.628 c 83.469 515.336 83.878 515.166 84.291 515.166 c 84.703 515.166 85.113 515.336 85.404 515.628 c 85.696 515.919 85.866 516.329 85.866 516.741 c f BT 91.016 513.925 Td 0.739 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(Using a personal name for an online account, the name of the city that you live in, the names of your children or )] TJ ET BT 91.016 502.936 Td 0.000 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(your date of birth, give hackers vital clues for attempting to access your personal data.)] TJ ET 85.866 494.763 m 85.866 495.176 85.696 495.586 85.404 495.877 c 85.113 496.169 84.703 496.338 84.291 496.338 c 83.878 496.338 83.469 496.169 83.177 495.877 c 82.885 495.586 82.716 495.176 82.716 494.763 c 82.716 494.351 82.885 493.941 83.177 493.650 c 83.469 493.358 83.878 493.188 84.291 493.188 c 84.703 493.188 85.113 493.358 85.404 493.650 c 85.696 493.941 85.866 494.351 85.866 494.763 c f BT 91.016 491.947 Td 1.239 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(For an average expert hacker, it is always easy to find passwords that are made up of words from the English )] TJ ET BT 91.016 480.958 Td 0.000 Tw /F4 9.0 Tf [(vocabulary or other languages, using a basic technique called "brute force" or "dictionary" attacks.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 457.999 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(What makes a password safe?)] TJ ET BT 78.360 438.026 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(1.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 438.010 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(A password at least 8 characters long.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 427.037 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(2.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 427.021 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(The password does not contain information that is easy to find online, such as the date of birth, the telephone )] TJ ET BT 91.016 416.032 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(number, your spouses name, the name of a pet, or a childs name.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 405.059 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(3.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 405.043 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(The password does not contain words found in the dictionary.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 394.070 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(4.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 394.054 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(The password contains special characters like @ # $% ^ &, and numbers.)] TJ ET BT 78.360 383.081 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(5.)] TJ ET BT 91.016 383.065 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(The password uses a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters.)] TJ ET BT 61.016 360.106 Td /F1 9.0 Tf [(A trick that the experts use to create secure passwords:)] TJ ET BT 61.016 340.117 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Think of a phrase and use the first letters of the words in the phrase.)] TJ ET 85.866 322.944 m 85.866 323.357 85.696 323.767 85.404 324.058 c 85.113 324.350 84.703 324.519 84.291 324.519 c 83.878 324.519 83.469 324.350 83.177 324.058 c 82.885 323.767 82.716 323.357 82.716 322.944 c 82.716 322.532 82.885 322.122 83.177 321.831 c 83.469 321.539 83.878 321.369 84.291 321.369 c 84.703 321.369 85.113 321.539 85.404 321.831 c 85.696 322.122 85.866 322.532 85.866 322.944 c f BT 91.016 320.128 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(For example: )] TJ ET BT 146.033 320.128 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [("In South Africa, a barbecue is called a Braai!")] TJ ET 85.866 311.955 m 85.866 312.368 85.696 312.778 85.404 313.069 c 85.113 313.361 84.703 313.530 84.291 313.530 c 83.878 313.530 83.469 313.361 83.177 313.069 c 82.885 312.778 82.716 312.368 82.716 311.955 c 82.716 311.543 82.885 311.133 83.177 310.842 c 83.469 310.550 83.878 310.380 84.291 310.380 c 84.703 310.380 85.113 310.550 85.404 310.842 c 85.696 311.133 85.866 311.543 85.866 311.955 c f BT 91.016 309.139 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(Take the first letters of each word and the password that is created is )] TJ ET BT 368.144 309.139 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(ISAabicaB!)] TJ ET 85.866 300.966 m 85.866 301.379 85.696 301.789 85.404 302.080 c 85.113 302.372 84.703 302.541 84.291 302.541 c 83.878 302.541 83.469 302.372 83.177 302.080 c 82.885 301.789 82.716 301.379 82.716 300.966 c 82.716 300.554 82.885 300.144 83.177 299.853 c 83.469 299.561 83.878 299.391 84.291 299.391 c 84.703 299.391 85.113 299.561 85.404 299.853 c 85.696 300.144 85.866 300.554 85.866 300.966 c f BT 91.016 298.150 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(This will be very difficult to guess, but easy to remember.)] TJ ET 85.866 289.977 m 85.866 290.390 85.696 290.800 85.404 291.091 c 85.113 291.383 84.703 291.552 84.291 291.552 c 83.878 291.552 83.469 291.383 83.177 291.091 c 82.885 290.800 82.716 290.390 82.716 289.977 c 82.716 289.565 82.885 289.155 83.177 288.864 c 83.469 288.572 83.878 288.402 84.291 288.402 c 84.703 288.402 85.113 288.572 85.404 288.864 c 85.696 289.155 85.866 289.565 85.866 289.977 c f BT 91.016 287.161 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(At this point, you can decide to make your the Google password is )] TJ ET BT 357.146 287.161 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(ISAabicaB!-G)] TJ ET BT 414.656 287.161 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(, and Facebook )] TJ ET BT 481.697 287.161 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(ISAabicaB!-F)] TJ ET BT 91.016 276.172 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(and your university account )] TJ ET BT 205.568 276.172 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(ISAabicaB!-U)] TJ ET BT 262.574 276.172 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(S and so on.)] TJ ET 85.866 267.999 m 85.866 268.412 85.696 268.822 85.404 269.113 c 85.113 269.405 84.703 269.574 84.291 269.574 c 83.878 269.574 83.469 269.405 83.177 269.113 c 82.885 268.822 82.716 268.412 82.716 267.999 c 82.716 267.587 82.885 267.177 83.177 266.886 c 83.469 266.594 83.878 266.424 84.291 266.424 c 84.703 266.424 85.113 266.594 85.404 266.886 c 85.696 267.177 85.866 267.587 85.866 267.999 c f BT 91.016 265.183 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(There is already a capital letter and a special character )] TJ ET BT 312.110 265.183 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(\(!\))] TJ ET BT 321.101 265.183 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(, so you just need to add a number to finish off a good )] TJ ET BT 91.016 254.194 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(password like )] TJ ET BT 148.031 254.194 Td /F3 9.0 Tf [(9-ISAabicaB!-US)] TJ ET BT 221.543 254.194 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(\(9 could be the month you created the password in - for example\))] TJ ET BT 61.016 234.205 Td /F4 9.0 Tf [(You will have already made your password a lot more difficult to hack, and it can be a lot of fun to create.)] TJ ET 0.400 0.400 0.400 rg BT 61.016 215.716 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(Posted in:News,Phishing,Security,Tips | Tagged:Cyberaware,Cybersecurity,Password,Passwords,Phishing | With 0 )] TJ ET BT 61.016 204.727 Td /F2 9.0 Tf [(comments)] TJ ET q 225.000 0 0 135.000 61.016 493.628 cm /I1 Do Q endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Oblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Helvetica-BoldOblique /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 13 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 61.0157 493.6285 286.0157 628.6285 ] >> endobj 13 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://blogs.sun.ac.za/it/en/2018/10/cyber-aware-month-common-passwords/) >> endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Annot /Subtype /Link /A 15 0 R /Border [0 0 0] /H /I /Rect [ 61.0157 619.0048 87.5297 628.1623 ] >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /Action /S /URI /URI (http://blogs.sun.ac.za/it/en/2018/10/cyber-aware-month-common-passwords/) >> endobj 16 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 300 /Height 180 /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /Filter /DCTDecode /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 4011>> stream JFIF``;CREATOR: gd-jpeg v1.0 (using IJG JPEG v62), quality = 82 C    !'"#%%%),($+!$%$C   $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$," }!1AQa"q2#BR$3br %&'()*456789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz w!1AQaq"2B #3Rbr $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ?(< ( ( ( ( ( (Q@((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((+!e:!6Y.9ۻλqT#%s?#klf@D.|m{9HrKՂ(QEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEs$okK 4zbb$1Gő Jq֍'Vj һn_xn 9|AFpב7_ ɣlUQkO]~ZG]at"FZ9<6qުQšC-j-̌e0O(9}~INOt ⺚_Mc2h]/ kön]\=bQ]$rnPiOҿ?Y\#Ͽ5 7Q dѿ6?*?JHD=@+# Q`HM|/C&Tk4o AOҿ??JH0{$y&F:oii7ݎ+vo5'_ U=[,<=4r e-TIQ`HàG5jZMͣ_ϧ9yf3]5y 2j(AEPEPEPEPEPEP0(QEQEQEQEWM?O]6vQȮҹ_ZڃjW]ʎ]ƏBG .ZڭԶȞSm,NN3YڷZ*ڿ3g܏C?s7H9jO[Vz*xr?BG .G!#o?o?:?[Ww3GH9h$5'GQy={j} 33]Ƥռ ӧ{`HJWb}Gum̞B>Vc>>׊5qWgY6[QXQEQEQE ( (Q@Š(AEPEPEPwB]B M"wZ]O8'l2 \vNg]CQ]'<҃ck c@~kPJYUsyvhAԩ4V`< yx[`w5}ax#.j 9}F/.[P{H)өP9`fΕn伔Op?C]jmvv[͕$NY9 ;'~{qF A#wZ+mxvVo͸qdqQєQEHQEQEQE ((QE (Q@Q@Q@Q@r!?KW+#KZRQ: iVdQQ@ QVn%5;"0 ݆g>_x}7vZ\,QWX>da})W( yyv 4 VvPQ%g 9f* 1$IMlCGQǐsG~/i}!ټDQM3:UXz/{ll2THG\tp54ނPIjZO}G1 [U;VC xp+Pu[)o㸶CHWS^Ik ىyZ%^OsqT,{R=N((((((((((((QExׄ p P} ʺ'@Kmq=?~ W^zj)j W=j dg*8ďxW_CQ\~?F?G eE}cmX{$s¿Ug!`jiO dmv-n?׬_C@^ԝ'ϳK}U5=2^=_Pv&I:tzzܥ2Ăf^7湛U]{I^KoYT@Ĩm8 +(tܛwV +A3^^/Eh?ok4"WEW`QEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQE (Q@Q@W,QOV(;OH.Lּ3]\ưNI Qs)8R8=j-oQ~ 㴴WJjb߶O;G-oQ~ 㴴Sթ=+_|\DҼ#5)Ŋ8U+#`Mf7FBmb d㓎98+d2aEW!EPEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEPEP0(QEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQE (QEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQEQE?`4lQTPll(=M6SFh ލފ(==袀 ލފ(==MPz6SElE`4Q@h=MPz6SElE`4Q@FElފ(==MP{Ѱz( endstream endobj xref 0 17 0000000000 65535 f 0000000008 00000 n 0000000073 00000 n 0000000119 00000 n 0000000332 00000 n 0000000369 00000 n 0000000507 00000 n 0000000596 00000 n 0000009827 00000 n 0000009939 00000 n 0000010054 00000 n 0000010174 00000 n 0000010282 00000 n 0000010409 00000 n 0000010533 00000 n 0000010659 00000 n 0000010783 00000 n trailer << /Size 17 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R >> startxref 14962 %%EOF Security « Informasietegnologie
Language:
SEARCH
  • Recent Posts

  • Categories

  • Archives

Security

Be cyberaware during the holiday period

Wednesday, December 20th, 2017

The time has come for everyone to take a well-deserved break and spend time with friends and family. From 22 December at 12:00 until 1 January Information Technology offices will be closed and no user support will be provided.

However, just because we’re on holiday it doesn’t mean fraudsters, opportunists and cybercriminals will also take a break. On the contrary, this is the ideal time for them to scam you out of your hard-earned money.

We’d like to remind you to be especially vigilant over the holiday season by following these guidelines when receiving emails or conducting online transactions:

  • We will never ask for your username and password. Don’t divulge your username and/or password if being asked via email. By doing this, you are giving someone access to all your confidential SU information, including salary details.
  • Do not click on any attachments, even if the address is a sun email address. If you are unsure, contact the person first to confirm.
  • Do not click on a website address given in an email. Rather go to your browser and type the correct address in the address bar.
  • Never conduct any transactions on a public, unprotected WiFi connection.
  • If you are unsure of the legitimacy of an email, contact the institution or person it was sent from directly by phone to confirm.

For further assistance email help@sun.ac.za or call our Service Desk at 808 4367. More information on cybersecurity can be found on our blog and Twitter account.

Phishing: Email from “Stellenbosch University Helpdesk”

Wednesday, December 13th, 2017

This morning’s spear-phishing attack comes in the form of a fake mail from “HelpDesk” about an alleged “Email Update”

The spear-phishing mail is as follows:

“Notice From Stellenbosch University HelpDesk: 

In an effort to increase the level of security for our  email accounts User, We are implementing a new email password policy for your protection. If you have not update your password recently click here: sun.ac.za to update your password or your e-mail will be temporarily  suspended .

Thanks for your co-operation.”

This is, of course, a phishing scam and you shouldn’t consider it as legitimate even though it allegedly comes from the “Helpdesk”.

The poor grammar, lack of official branding and threatening tone of the mail makes it a classic phishing scam, but with the added danger of students and personnel falling for it because of the  salutation “Notice from the Stellenbosch University HelpDesk:”

We have already blocked access to the server, but there is a high risk that users who are currently on holiday and accessing university mail through their ADSL internet connections or cell phone, will still have access to the scammer’s server and will be fooled by the “forged” login page and provide the scammers with their usernames and passwords. If this happens the scammers will gain control over the personnel or student account and continue their attack from “within” the university network.

Always send the spam/phishing mail to the following addresses:

help@sun.ac.za and sysadm@sun.ac.za.

 Attach the phishing or suspicious mail on to the message if possible. There is a good tutorial on how to do this at the following link (which is safe) : http://stbsp01.stb.sun.ac.za/innov/it/it-help/Wiki%20Pages/Spam%20sysadmin%20Eng.aspx

  1. Start up a new mail addressed to sysadm@sun.ac.za (CC: help@sun.ac.za)
  2. Use the Title “SPAM” (without quotes) in the Subject.
  3. With this New Mail window open, drag the suspicious spam/phishing mail from your Inbox into the New Mail Window. It will attach the mail as an enclosure and a small icon with a light yellow envelope will appear in the attachments section of the New Mail.
  4. Send the mail.

IF YOU HAVE FALLEN FOR THE SCAM:

If you did click on the link of this phishing spam and unwittingly give the scammers your username, e-mail address and password you should immediately go to http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm and change the passwords on ALL your university accounts (making sure the new password is completely different, and is a strong password that will not be easily guessed.) as well as changing the passwords on your social media and private e-mail accounts (especially if you use the same passwords for these accounts.)

IT has set up a website page with useful information on how to report and combat phishing and spam. The address is:

https://blogs.sun.ac.za/it/en/2017/11/reporting-spam-malware-and-phishing/ As you can see the address has a sun.ac.za at the end of the domain name, so it is legitimate. 

E-mail scam with subject: “morning”

Wednesday, December 13th, 2017

It seems that scammers are now attempting to use student e-mail addresses to send out spam. 

If you get mail with the subject of “morning”, supposedly coming from a student account (studentnumber@sun.ac.za) with the following content, please ignore and delete it.

We are conducting a  standard process investigation involving a late client who  shares the same surname with you and also the circumstances surrounding investments made by this client.Are you aware of  any relative/relation having the same surname? Send email to: scammer@scam.com

This is a typical Nigerian 419 Advance Fee scam. Do not respond to this mail. The scammers just want to see who will respond so they can con you out of some money.

A reminder again of how to correctly report spam and phishing scams:

Send the spam/phishing mail to the following addresses: 

help@sun.ac.za and sysadm@sun.ac.za.

 Attach the phishing or suspicious mail on to the message if possible. There is a good tutorial on how to do this at the following link (which is safe): http://stbsp01.stb.sun.ac.za/innov/it/it-help/Wiki%20Pages/Spam%20sysadmin%20Eng.aspx

  1. Start up a new mail addressed to sysadm@sun.ac.za (CC: help@sun.ac.za)
  2. Use the Title “SPAM” (without quotes) in the Subject.
  3. With this New Mail window open, drag the suspicious spam/phishing mail from your Inbox into the New Mail Window. It will attach the mail as an enclosure and a small icon with a light yellow envelope will appear in the attachments section of the New Mail.
  4. Send the mail.

IF YOU HAVE FALLEN FOR THE SCAM:

If you did click on the link of this phishing spam and unwittingly give the scammers your username, e-mail address and password you should immediately go to http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm and change the passwords on ALL your university accounts (making sure the new password is completely different, and is a strong password that will not be easily guessed.) as well as changing the passwords on your social media and private e-mail accounts (especially if you use the same passwords on these accounts.)

IT has set up a website page with useful information on how to report and combat phishing and spam. The address is: https://blogs.sun.ac.za/it/en/2017/11/reporting-spam-malware-and-phishing/

As you can see the address has a sun.ac.za at the end of the domain name, so it is legitimate. We suggest bookmarking this.

[Article by David Wiles]

Phishing scam targeting Apple users

Thursday, December 7th, 2017

If you are the owner of an Apple product like an iPhone, iPad or MacBook and have an AppleID, then please be aware of a phishing scam currently making the rounds. It targets university personnel (using university usernames – including student numbers)

The subject lines will be “Account Suspension Notification” or “Account Activity Notification” and will tell you that because AppleID account has been logged in from “multiple locations and different countries” your account has been suspended, and you need to log in using your AppleID to reactivate your account on Apple.

Now, if you don’t have an Apple product, this would be something to ignore and spot as a phishing scam, but if you do have an Apple product you might *panic* and click on the link.

This is exactly what the scammers want you to do. You would be taken to a forged website that looks like the Apple Login page and asked to type in your Apple ID username and password. That is what the scammers are after! They can then access your real AppleID account and steal information, credit cards details etc.

  1. Don’t open links inside emails, especially if you’re not 100% sure who sent it.
  2. if you’re about to click on a link from a company as reputable as Apple, It will always have a customer service department you can contact. You can ask if Apple has sent you a link requesting updated contact information. Or better yet, log into your Apple account; click on the Manage My Apple ID tab, to make sure your information is up to date.
  3. Ensure you have up-to-date antivirus and malware/anti-phishing software installed on your computer.

[Article by David Wiles]

Spear-phishing scam from “university personnel”

Wednesday, December 6th, 2017

Spear-phishing is a targeted form of phishing in which fraudulent emails are sent to specific individuals at an institution, like the university, in an effort to gain access to confidential information.

This morning we are starting to see the spear-phishing scam emails being sent out in the name of known individuals at the university – in Tygerberg’s case – the Dean, Prof Jimmy Volmink.

Below is a mail that is being sent out “in the name” of Prof Volmink, entitled “Invoice Problem”. (click on image to enlarge) It was sent to several university addresses, uses a forged e-mail address from another university, and has been designed to convince people that it is legitimate.

This is a dangerous phishing scam because it seems to come from a known person.Do not respond to it and if you do receive it here is what to do:

Send the spam/phishing mail to the following addresses help@sun.ac.za and sysadm@sun.ac.za.

 Attach the phishing or suspicious mail on to the message if possible. There is a good tutorial on how to do this at the following link (which is safe): http://stbsp01.stb.sun.ac.za/innov/it/it-help/Wiki%20Pages/Spam%20sysadmin%20Eng.aspx

  1. Start up a new mail addressed to sysadm@sun.ac.za (CC: help@sun.ac.za)
  2. Use the Title “SPAM” (without quotes) in the Subject.
  3. With this New Mail window open, drag the suspicious spam/phishing mail from your Inbox into the New Mail Window. It will attach the mail as an enclosure and a small icon with a light yellow envelope will appear in the attachments section of the New Mail.
  4. Send the mail.

IF YOU HAVE FALLEN FOR THE SCAM:

If you did click on the link of this phishing spam and unwittingly give the scammers your username, e-mail address and password you should immediately go to http://www.sun.ac.za/useradm and change the passwords on ALL your university accounts (making sure the new password is completely different, and is a strong password that will not be easily guessed.) as well as changing the passwords on your social media and private e-mail accounts (especially if you use the same passwords for these accounts.)

IT has set up a website page with useful information on how to report and combat phishing and spam. The address is:

https://blogs.sun.ac.za/it/en/2017/11/reporting-spam-malware-and-phishing/

As you can see the address has a sun.ac.za at the end of the domain name, so it is legitimate. I suggest bookmarking this.

[ARTICLE BY David Wiles]

 

© 2013-2025 Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author(s) and content contributor(s). The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by Stellenbosch University.