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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 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SMiShing: Now on your phone

Tuesday, August 1st, 2017

According to McAfee SMiShing is:

“…  a version of phishing in which scammers send text messages rather than emails, which appear to have been sent by a legitimate, trusted organization and request that the recipient clicks on a link or provide credentials in a text message reply. The term is a condensed way of referring to “short message service phishing,” or “SMS phishing.””

Over the past few years, we’ve learnt not to trust emails, fearing we’ll become victims of phishing fraud. Most people by now know not to click on links in emails. With SMS’s you can’t preview links as in emails, which increases the possibility of clicking on it out of curiosity. Unfortunately, human behaviour is the greatest threat to cyber security and it’s something that cannot be controlled by IT security staff. 

Criminal hackers had to find another way to trick users into revealing personal information. As we start using more and more mobile devices, the potential for possible platforms increases. Additionally, if you use your devices at home and at work, you also put the university at risk when you are a victim of either phishing or smishing. At the university, there are thousands of staff and students using various devices, all at risk of being infected. 

How do they do it?

Hackers have access to software that generates cell phone numbers based on area codes, they then plug into a cell phone service provider’s extension and generate the remaining numbers with the software. By means of a mass email text message service, messages are distributed. Text messages will contain a link which installs keyloggers or link to malicious websites which harvests your personal information. Other text messages trick the receiver into calling numbers, leading to outrageous phone bills. (Also see the latest Wangiri scam) Yet another type will trick you into thinking you’ve subscribed to a service. When you try to unsubscribe, you’ll be billed for using the service.  Some text messages will download spyware which can see everything you do on your phone.

How to avoid it

  1. Know how this kind of scam works. You’ll be able to recognise it easier. 
  2. Don’t reply to text messages from numbers you don’t know, especially if it asks for personal information.
  3. Even if it’s a message from a friend, make sure it’s legitimate. Your friend could have been hacked. Check with them first.
  4. Install security on your phone, for example, a VPN, anti-virus and spyware.
  5. Never install apps from text messages. Rather go to the app store where you know the software has been tested and verified. (e.g. Google Play)
  6. If you’re unsure if a text message is safe, don’t open it.
  7. If you didn’t sign up for a service, ignore the message.

 

‘Smishing’ scams target your text messages. Here’s how to avoid them from CNBC.

[SOURCES: www.webopedia.com; CNBC; www.bbc.com; www.norton.com; www.consumeraffairs.com; www.mcafee.com]

 

Wangiri fraud on the rise

Monday, July 31st, 2017

According to MyBroadband Vodacom, MTN, and Cell C have seen an increase in Wangiri phone fraud in South Africa. South African mobile subscribers recently reported that they are receiving an increasing volume of missed calls from unknown international numbers. Calls originate from across Africa and Europe, including Guinea, France, and Belgium.

Wangiri is a form of phone fraud which originated in Japan. Wangiri translates to “one (ring) and cut”. The racketeers hire a premium rate number from a telecom service provider and call random phone numbers via an auto dialer function, letting it ring once and then disconnecting the call. An automatic dialer (auto dialer) is an electronic device or software that automatically dials telephone numbers. Once the call has been answered, the auto dialler either plays a recorded message or connects the call to a live person. (Wikipedia)

A missed call shows on the victim’s phone and he returns the call since he believes the call was intended for him. Subsequently, he ends up paying an exorbitant amount which goes into the account of the scammers.

Both CellC and MTN have sent their customers a warning not to return any missed calls. Do not call back a number you do not recognise. If it is a legitimate call, the caller will call you back or leave a voicemail. 

Wangiri is just one example of phone fraud. Read more on other variations on Wikipedia.

[SOURCES: https://readstudyshare.wordpress.com; www.wikipedia.com]

PHISHING: SABC TV Licence payment request

Wednesday, July 26th, 2017

The SABC slogan goes: “Pay your TV licence. It’s the right thing to do” or something to that effect. Falling for this phishing scam, will NOT be the right thing to do.

This phishing scam from the “SABC” about payment of your TV Licence, is very clever as it uses a so-called encrypted-PDF to capture data like the victim’s ID Number, Passport Number or Company Registration number. Once the data is captured, it asks you for banking account details etc. to do the “payment” for a TV Licence. The data is captured by the PDF, which is then sent to a server controlled by the criminals, who will use it to defraud them of their money.

This is what the phishing email looks like (with the dangerous parts removed):


From: forged_address@lettersonline.co.za [mailto:forged_address@lettersonline.co.za]
Sent: Monday, 24 July 2017 13:14
To: University, Address <noreply@sun.ac.za> <noreply@sun.ac.za>

Subject: SABC requires you to make payment on your TV license account

Hi,
Please find attached correspondence for your attention. The attachment is password protect.

The password for the attachment will be one of the following three options:
1. Your ID Number
2. Your Passport Number
3. Your Company Registration Number

Kind Regards
LettersOnline Team


The PDF attachment will ask you for a password if you open it.  Do not open or enter any details on this PDF. The SABC will never send you an email with a link or attached file to demand that you pay your licence. Neither will they send an unbranded mail or with no personalised salutation.

[Article by David Wiles]

PHISHING: Exceeded mailbox limit

Monday, July 24th, 2017

This week’s Monday morning phishing scam is in the form of a rather poorly worded “WARNING” about exceeding the limit of your email.

The three exclamation marks (!!!) in the Subject line should immediately be a warning. Just because it comes from “Stellenbosch University Upgrade Team 2017” doesn’t guarantee that it is genuine!

Here is what the phishing email looks like (With the dangerous parts removed):


From: Stellenbosch University Upgrade Team 2017 [mailto:forged_address@webmail.co.za]

Sent: Monday, 24 July 2017 10:49 AM

Subject: Urgent Notification !!!

Urgent notification ,

You have exceeded your mail limit , Your account will be blocked from sending and receiving messages if your account is not been upgraded, upgrade your account free now Via the weblink Below :

http://dont_click.on.this.link

If your account have been upgraded please ignore this, this is for all student and stafs please Thank you.

Webmail © 2017

Email: forged_address@webmail.co.za


Here are # tips below can help you spot a  phishing scam:

  1. Unofficial “From” address. Look out for a sender’s email address that is similar to, but not the same as, a company’s official email address. These email addresses are meant to fool you.
  2. Urgent action required. Fraudsters often include urgent “calls to action” to try to get you to react immediately. Be wary of emails containing phrases like “your account will be closed,” “your account has been compromised,” or “urgent action required.” The fraudster is taking advantage of your concern to trick you into providing confidential information.
  3. Generic salutation. Fraudsters often send thousands of phishing emails at one time. They may have your email address, but they seldom have your name. Be sceptical of an email sent with a generic greeting such as “Dear Customer” or “Dear Member”.
  4. Link to a fake web site. To trick you into disclosing your user name and password, fraudsters often include a link to a fake web site that looks like (sometimes exactly like) the sign-in page of a legitimate web site. Just because a site includes a company’s logo or looks like the real page doesn’t mean it is!
  5. Spelling errors, poor grammar, or inferior graphics.
  6. Requests for personal information such as your password, user name, or bank account or credit card number. Legitimate companies will never ask you to verify or provide confidential information in an unsolicited email.
  7. Attachments (which usually contain viruses, malware or ransomware).

If you have received mail that looks like this please immediately report it to the Information Technology Security Team using the following method:

Send the spam/phishing mail to the following addresses

help@sun.ac.za and sysadm@sun.ac.za as well.

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 email addressed to sysadm@sun.ac.za (CC: csirt@sun.ac.za and 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 email 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 email.

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 email accounts (especially if you use the same passwords on these accounts.)

[Article by David Wiles]

 

PHISHING: “Re: betaling aan jou rekening”

Wednesday, July 19th, 2017

About a year ago a new version of the ABSA Bank phishing email hit the university email server. What was new about this version was that the email was in Afrikaans. Although the Afrikaans was not perfect with some spelling and grammar mistakes, it still could have fooled many people, because of the “familiarity” component.

Stellenbosch University still uses a lot of Afrikaans as its primary official communications medium, and many automated systems like the Financial system use Afrikaans to inform users of payments etc. While there is nothing wrong with this, phishing scammers have latched onto this and are now attempting to fool people into divulging their personal details using Afrikaans in their phishing e-mails.

We were warned early this morning about an email that was originating from UCT with dangerous content, and almost immediately the UCT phishing emails started arriving.

Here is what to look out for:

Mail will arrive from a forged or compromised “UCT address” that will look like this:


From: Anna Huang [mailto:forged_address@myuct.ac.za]
Sent: 19 July 2017 10:53 AM
To: Recipients <forged_address@myuct.ac.za>
Subject: Re: betaling aan jou rekening

Goeiemore,

Vind aangehegte betalingsbewys.

Dankie

Disclaimer – University of Cape Town This e-mail is subject to UCT policies and e-mail disclaimer published on our website at http://www.uct.ac.za/about/policies/emaildisclaimer/ or obtainable from +27 21 650 9111. If this e-mail is not related to the business of UCT, it is sent by the sender in an individual capacity. Please report security incidents or abuse via csirt@uct.ac.za


The disclaimer from the University and the Afrikaans could fool some people if they are not careful.

The dangerous part is actually an attached html files (sometimes it might look like a PDF) that will present you with a login page where you will be asked to give your e-mail address and your password to “view this payment”

The login page will look like this, in this version:

The actual server’s address is also hidden by encoding it, so to the untrained eye, nothing will look suspicious. This is a typical phishing scam, but with the “sender” coming from a neighbouring academic institution, and the language being Afrikaans, we need to be even more alert.

[Article by David Wiles]

 

 

 

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