Homemade Hummus

As the global health crisis continues, many organizations are making the decision to continue remote work into the summer, and some are even hiring new employees remotely. Malicious actors are also still working and are capitalizing on uncertainty and preoccupation with other challenges. One of their most common goals is to obtain private information, such as passwords, personally identifiable information like social security numbers, or internal business decisions, all of which can be sold on the dark web or used in future scams targeting both individuals and organizations.  Whether you are already teleworking or simply want to be prepared for any opportunities that may arise, familiarize yourself with these simple tips to keep you, your devices, and your organization safe in the virtual workspace.

•  Read and follow your organization’s policies on telecommunications and telework. Know what you are and are not allowed to access from your personal devices.

•  Secure your Internet connection. Use a unique password for your home Wi-Fi and avoid accessing private information over public connections.

•  Lock your devices. Use a unique password, facial recognition, etc. to ensure that others cannot access private information through your phone or computer.

•  Keep your devices up to date. Update regularly or enable automatic updates to get the latest security patches as quickly as possible.

•  Use any additional security tools your organization provides. For example, UMBC offers access to the GlobalProtect VPN for secure remote connection to the campus network, and Duo Two-Factor Authentication to help prevent unauthorized logins to your UMBC account.

UMBC DoIT Security continues to receive reports of malicious emails claiming to offer part time job opportunities to UMBC students. 

From: Charlotte Oliver <charlotteoli26900@gmail.com>

Date: Sat, May 30, 2020 at 10:55

Subject: UMBC STUDENT PART TIME JOB OPPORTUNITY

Dear Student,

 

We got your contact through your school database and I'm happy to inform you that our reputable company Cisco Systems Inc® is currently running a student empowerment program. This program is to help devoted and hardworking students secure a part time job which does not deter them from doing any other, you just need a few hours to do this weekly and with an attractive weekly wages.

 

KINDLY EMAIL BACK WITH YOUR  (RESUME) PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER IF INTERESTED IN THIS JOB POSITION.

 

Best Regards,

 

Charlotte Oliver

HR Manager/Consultant

Cisco Systems Inc®

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS PHISHING EMAIL!

This phishing campaign is designed to collect students’ personal information. A reply confirms that your account is active and could lead to more spam. Additionally, if you provide your alternate email address and phone number as requested, you could be vulnerable to phone and text message scams in addition to being pressured by the fake employers for more personal information.

This job scam is similar to a COVID-19 themed variant reported in early May. While the message and subject of the emails have changed, the basic premise has not. See the original post at https://itsecurity.umbc.edu/critical/?id=92997.

Like many Americans, watching multiple incidents of deadly violence against black people unfold before our eyes has left us feeling demoralized and distraught, aghast and angry. Not only have we been forced to grapple with the impact of a global pandemic, we have been forced to confront the reality that, despite gains made in the past fifty years, we are still a nation riven by inequality and racial division. The state of our democracy feels fragile and precarious.

Once again, we struggle to make sense of the senseless. Once again, we bear witness to our country’s troubled history of racial violence, from Freddie Gray and Eric Garner to Sandra Bland and Trayvon Martin. Once again, we try to cope as best as we can, whether suffering in silence, participating in protests, or engaging in conversations that evoke all of our emotions. Once again, we try to explain to our children that which cannot be explained. Once again, we pray for justice and we pray for peace. Once again.

We express our deepest sympathy to the families and communities of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and the far too many preceding them whose needless deaths were brought about by unjustified violence. We hope that their pain and sorrow compel America to confront its tortured racial past, and that this moment becomes the impetus for our nation to address racism and social inequities in earnest.

Although it will be a monumental task, the past is replete with examples of ordinary people working together to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges. History is a guide to a better future and demonstrates that we can become a better society—but only if we collectively demand it from each other and from the institutions responsible for administering justice. 

Frederick Douglass famously said, “Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground….The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle.” At this pivotal moment when the eyes of the nation and the world are upon Minneapolis, will we join the struggle to seek justice and equality? Will we heed the call of courageous figures throughout history who spoke out against slavery, marched on for voting rights, and sat in for basic equality? Will we challenge the nation to live up to its founding ideals? In the memory of those taken from us and for the good of the country, I hope that we do.