Are you looking for strategies to tackle online learning? Do you want to build skills to improve your productivity? Are you looking to start each week with a little Monday Motivation? Join us for the six week Become a Better Learner Workshop Series that will set you up with STEM specific learning strategies, test-taking methods, an understanding of the power of learning our “failures” and that’s just the beginning!

The first workshop “Creating a Schedule for our Time” will take place on Monday, September 14th from 12-1PM. The other workshops will take place on 9/21, 9/28, 10/5, 10/12 and 10/19, all from 12-1PM. To learn more and/or to sign-up for each workshop visit their individual myUMBC event posts by clicking on each date. Be sure to follow The Learning Collaboratory myUMBC group, too!

• We highly encourage participation from first and second year students, but welcome everyone that is interested in the workshop content.

• Participants are not required to participate in all six workshops and can sign-up for workshops based on interest.

• Participants will be required to RSVP via the myUMBC event post prior to the workshop.

• Access to the workshop link will be in each of the individual myUMBC event posts in The Learning Collaboratory myUMBC group page.

A phishing attack urging users to download undelivered emails was reported to DoIT Security this week. Here is an example of the malicious message.

From: "umbc.edu System Administrator" <admin@secureserver.net>

Subject: You have 4 undelivered emails. Download them now

Date: 03 Sep 2020 14:40:40 +0800

Undelivered Mail Notification

Email account: (redacted)@umbc.edu

Time of error 9/3/2020 2:40:40 p.m.

Due to a recent configuration error, some of your emails have not been properly synchronized with your mailbox. Login below to clear this error and download your mails.

Download your emails

If you do not retrieve your undelivered emails now, they may be lost forever.

umbc.edu Email Server

The link to “download” undelivered emails leads to a website which prompts users to enter their UMBC credentials, potentially giving malicious actors access to victims’ UMBC accounts.

Notice the warning signs in this email. First, check the sender address, and notice that the supposed "umbc.edu System Administrator" is not using a umbc.edu address. Next, check the time and time zone of the message. The time zone UTC+0800 is used in China and parts of Australia and Russia, for example, but not anywhere that a legitimate email about your UMBC account would likely originate. Finally, be wary of unexpected emails requiring immediate action. Malicious actors try to induce panic to make victims act before thinking about the risks.

See a similar email reported at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:

https://its.unc.edu/phish-alert/you-have-9-pending-emails-download-them-now/

If you do receive this or any other email that you suspect is a scam, please do not click on any URL or reply. Either of those actions confirms to the sender that your email address is valid. Please forward the message (with the email headers) to security@umbc.edu.

How do I forward full email headers?

https://wiki.umbc.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1867970

To read more articles published by DOIT visit: 

https://itsecurity.umbc.edu/critical/?tag=notice. 

https://itsecurity.umbc.edu/home/covid-19-news/?tag=covid19

On June 19, 2020 an online antique Marketplace, LiveAuctioneers, suffered a data breach. Approximately 3.4 million records were leaked. The records include names, email and IP addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers and passwords stored as unsalted MD5 hashes.The information was sold online and redistributed to a hacking forum. 

29 UMBC accounts were victims of this breach. The victims are being notified via their UMBC emails and/or their alternate emails. If you have a LiveAuctioneers account, please contact them to see if you have been affected by this breach. To see if you were involved in any other breach visit: https://haveibeenpwned.com/.

More about LiveAuctioneers data breach:

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/liveauctioneers-reports-data-breach-after-user-records-sold-online/

https://portswigger.net/daily-swig/liveauctioneers-data-breach-millions-of-cracked-passwords-for-sale-say-researchers

If you have any questions or concerns email us: security@umbc.edu 

Information about this breach was provided to us by Have I Been Pwned(HIBP). 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Receive any suspicious emails?

Forward it to security@umbc.edu along with the email headers. Instructions for doing so can be found at the UMBC support wiki: https://wiki.umbc.edu/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=1867970.

Need to set up a recovery email for your UMBC account?

Follow the instructions here: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/itsecurity/posts/94776

What are you waiting for?  – It only takes approximately 5 hours to complete the CashCourse!

The FinancialSmarts CashCourse is a multi-module, self-paced course that ensures that you are as well-prepared to manage your budgets, bank accounts, assets and debt as you are to master your academic and career interests. To enroll in the online FinancialSmarts CashCourse click here. 

By September 15, 2020:

● If you complete the pre-assessment and one module, your name will be entered in our $100 cash prize drawing.

● If you complete the pre-assessment and two or more modules, your name will be entered in our $300 cash prize drawing.

● If you complete the pre-assessment and all modules, your name will be entered in our $500 cash prize drawing.

Be sure to complete modules by September 15, 2020 (ONLY 4 DAYS AWAY!) to be entered into the drawings! All drawings will take place on September 16, 2020 at 12:30pm via Instagram Live. 

So don’t wait...get started now before it is too late to enter the contest!

If you have questions about the online FinancialSmarts CashCourse, please feel free to contact us at financialsmarts@umbc.edu.