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Phishing scam: “Proof of Payment”

Friday, August 27th, 2021

Over 2 billion people worldwide have purchased goods or services online during the pandemic. The danger of all this convenient shopping with Takealot, Checkers or any online store is that people provide their credit card number without diligence.

One of the most prevalent scams NOW is called POP or Proof of Payment Receipt. There are a number of new phishing scams with the subject “Proof of Payment” or “Suspicious Bank transaction” at the moment. 

Here is one such scam that is currently being reported by personnel and students at Tygerberg. 

Click for larger image

Click for larger image

The way that this scam works is that the scammers are trying to get their victims to click on the link and go to a specially engineered site to steal passwords and login credentials. Often bank account details and cell phone numbers are asked for, and this is how the scammers get access to bank accounts and can do SIM swaps, to steal money and personal details.

Notice how the mail details have been forged to make the sender and the recipient the same. This is to disguise the true sender and to bypass the mail filters which would normally accept mail from within an organisation. In this case this sender used a “throw-away” Outlook.com e-mail address and then forged the headers to change the sender. In this case there is a possibility that the government address has been compromised.

If you get one of these e-mails or one similar looking (scammers change tactics very quickly) please report it to IT on the ICT Partner Portal. Fill in your information and add the email as an attachment. Your request will automatically be logged on the system.​​

Secondly blacklist the sender under Junk mail, and perhaps even block the entire domain. You can do this by using the Report Message add-in on Outlook (available on your toolbar on the far right) More about the add-in on our blog or you can find the instructions on this .PDF

 

[ARTICLE BY DAVID WILES]

Extra layer of security added to campus computers

Monday, August 2nd, 2021

Cyber crime is a constantly evolving field. Even though the majority of viruses were created as pranks, it’s essential to stay informed of the various risks that exist on the internet if you want to stay safe online. Here’s a breakdown of the basics: 

Malware, or malicious software, is a catch-all term for any type of malicious computer program. Malware is the most common type of online threat.

Ransomware is an emerging form of malware that locks the user out of their files or their device, then demands an anonymous online payment to restore access.

Adware is a form of malware that hides on your device and serves you advertisements. Some adware also monitors your behaviour online so it can target you with specific ads.

Spyware is a form of malware that hides on your device, monitors your activity, and steals sensitive information like bank details and passwords.

The world of cyber crime is very similar to that of technology. Every year, new trends, breakthroughs, and tools emerge.

You’ve probably noticed a Malwarebytes Threat Scan icon on your desktop or laptop (Figure 1). Don’t worry, this isn’t a brand-new type of malware. Stellenbosch University’s IT department has added an extra layer of security to campus computers.

Figure 1

Malwarebytes Incident Response is the trusted standard in automated endpoint remediation. Unfortunately, with the current environment, some malware will return after removal and Malwarebytes will prompt you to initiate a restart (Figure 2).

Figure 2

This is because the malware will sync to your browsers profile and will be synced back to your device after it has been removed.  If you are experiencing such daily prompts for restarts by Malwarebytes, we suggest that you log a request on the ICT Partner Portal for a technician to assist with further remediation.

[ARTICLE BY BRADLEY VAN DER VENTER]

The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) is here

Sunday, July 4th, 2021

The Protection of Personal Information Act (4 of 2013) (POPIA) is in full effect from 1 July 2021.  A brief summary of the POPIA Act is available here.

To support the University community’s readiness for POPIA, the Division for Information Governance has launched a series of guides and tools at www.sun.ac.za/privacy, including our institutional privacy regulations, an online privacy impact self-assessment, and channels for reporting incidents or breaches of personal information.

The Division for Information Governance also offers awareness sessions, facilitated privacy impact assessments, and internal advisory and consulting services by request. For more details, contact privacy@sun.ac.za

Also read POPIA: How valuable is personal information?

Everlytic, the digital messaging platform, also has various of helpful articles on its website, as well as a handy POPIA Powerpoint guide.

Downloading of films and series can be traced and fined

Thursday, May 20th, 2021

With a fast internet connection and unlimited, “free” internet, it’s possible to download movies and series to your heart’s content. Unless you use a pay streaming platform it’s also illegal. Additionally, if you use the university’s network and/or devices it’s also a breach of the university’s Electronic Communications Policy – a policy all students and staff agree to when they annually activate their network access. Therefore your network access can be revoked if you are caught downloading and hosting illegal content.

Up to a few years back television networks and film companies weren’t geared to trace and stop downloading and distribution of illegal movies. It was just too difficult and not cost-effective. This is no longer the case – even in South Africa. Everything you do online can be tracked and traced.  

Information Technology receive regular notifications from companies such as Warner Bros. and Columbia Pictures indicating that illegal, copyrighted material is being downloaded and seeded (distributed) from IP addresses within the university’s network. These emails include the specific IP address which we can trace to the user, the material downloaded and distributed and at which times. When we receive these notifications, we immediately send an email to the user of the address with a written warning. If they do not comply, these companies will take legal action.

The distribution or seeding of copyrighted material without a licence is both a criminal and civil offence in South Africa, even if distribution takes place from BitTorrent. Just because it’s available via a torrent, it doesn’t mean it’s legal.

In South Africa, under the Copyright Law of 1978, you can be sentenced for up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to R10,000 for each item you distribute. Between 2010 and 2012, 200,000 people have been sued for uploading and downloading copyright material via BitTorrent.

So before you download the latest episode of your favourite series or stream movies from an illegal file sharing site, consider the consequences. There are many legal options to watch media online, from Netflix  to Showmax, so rather be safe and legal.

MORE INFORMATION:

How does BitTorrent and seeding work?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent 

http://www.bittorrent.com/help/guides/beginners-guide

 


Example of a warning letter:

We are writing this letter on behalf of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (“Rights Holder”) who own certain rights under copyright law in the title White House Down.

You are receiving this notice because your Internet account was identified as having been used recently to copy and/or distribute illegally the copyrighted motion pictures and/or television shows listed at the bottom of this notice. This notice provides you with the information you need in order to take immediate action that can prevent serious legal and other consequences. These actions include:

1. Stop downloading or uploading without authorization any motion pictures or TV shows owned or distributed by Rights Holder; and
2. Permanently delete from your computer(s) all unauthorized copies you may have already made of these movies and TV shows.
If this notice is being received by an Internet Service Provider (ISP), please forward the notice to the individual associated with the activities.
The unauthorized distribution or public performance of copyrighted works constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, Title 17 U.S Code Section 106(3)-(4). This conduct may also violate the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and The Universal Copyright Convention, as well as bilateral treaties with other countries that allow for protection of Rights Holder copyrighted works even beyond U.S borders.
Below is the detail for your reference:
– ————- Infringement Details ———————————-
Title: White House Down
Timestamp: 2013-09-19T23:18:28Z
IP Address: 146.232.***.**
Port: *****
Type: BitTorrent
Torrent Hash: *************************************


 [SOURCE: http://mybroadband.co.za]

 

 

External emails not delivered

Thursday, May 6th, 2021

Since Friday, 30 April, many external emails have not been delivered to SU staff and student mailboxes. These messages have been placed under quarantine by Microsoft for security reasons.

The issue was reported to Microsoft earlier this week and is receiving urgent attention from both Microsoft’s engineers as well as our own system engineers. 

We realise that important messages might have been queued and therefore we will release all pending messages tomorrow ((Friday, 7 May) afternoon at 16:00 as a temporary solution to the problem.

Please take note that messages could include spam or phishing emails and you need to be extra careful when dealing with these particular messages.

We apologise for the inconvenience and hope that the situation will be resolved soon. 
Any enquiries regarding this can be logged on the ICT Partner Portal.

 

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