{"671826":{"#nid":"671826","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Cybersafety During the Holidays and Beyond","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs online shopping has grown exponentially since the Covid-19 pandemic began, so has the risk for online scams and cyberattacks.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe holidays present an especially busy time for online activity and, unfortunately, cybercriminals take advantage,\u201d said Leo Howell, Georgia Tech chief information security officer. \u201cFrom creating fake shopping sites to exploiting financial transactions, threats are all around and it is important to remain vigilant.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPhishing \u2014 the fraudulent\u202fpractice of sending emails or other messages purporting to be from reputable companies or individuals to induce people to reveal personal information \u2014 is also common.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Cyber Security team at Georgia Tech has seen heightened phishing attempts across the campus,\u201d Howell continued. \u201cEmail scams typically increase in frequency throughout the holiday season. I routinely encourage employees to double-check matters such as their financial institution\u2019s routing number and their account number provided for direct deposit and instruct students how to detect suspicious emails and text messages.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Office of Information Technology offers the following tips to stay safe online this season and beyond:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EAlways STOP, THINK, and CHECK. Shop reliable websites of retailers you know and trust and visit their sites directly by entering a known, trusted URL into the address bar instead of following a link. Do research on retailers that you are not familiar with, such as looking for and examining consumer reviews, and verify that the retailer has\u0026nbsp;a legitimate mailing address and phone number for sales or support questions.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EBe mindful of package tracking emails, fake ecards, charity donation scams, or anything that requests confirmation of purchase information. Double-check email links that appear to be from major retailers and shipping companies such as FedEx and UPS.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EIf you receive an email, text message, or call with a deal that\u2019s too good to be true, it\u2019s probably a scam. Follow up with your own research.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn your Georgia Tech accounts, \u003Cem\u003Edon\u2019t\u003C\/em\u003E:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EReset passwords via links sent in emails. Instead, go directly to BuzzPort (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/buzzport.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ebuzzport.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Passport (\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/passport.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Epassport.gatech.edu)\u003C\/a\u003E URLs to change your passwords.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003ERespond to job solicitations that you did not apply for or expect.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EClick DUO prompts when you have not attempted a login.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EEngage with suspicious emails that are sent to your Georgia Tech email account. Instead, immediately forward the email to \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:phishing@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ephishing@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThroughout the holiday season and beyond, the Office of Information Technology reminds the Georgia Tech community to stop, think, and check when shopping online and before engaging with suspicious emails and other messages.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Throughout the holiday season and beyond, the Office of Information Technology reminds the Georgia Tech community to stop, think, and check when shopping online and before engaging with suspicious emails and other messages."}],"uid":"34932","created_gmt":"2023-12-19 17:04:02","changed_gmt":"2024-01-03 17:10:24","author":"Courtney Hill","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-12-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2023-12-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"672619":{"id":"672619","type":"image","title":"Cybersecurity awareness","body":null,"created":"1703013923","gmt_created":"2023-12-19 19:25:23","changed":"1703039217","gmt_changed":"2023-12-20 02:26:57","alt":"Cybersecurity awareness graphic","file":{"fid":"255894","name":"Cybersecurity-graphic.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/12\/19\/Cybersecurity-graphic.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/12\/19\/Cybersecurity-graphic.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":622492,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/12\/19\/Cybersecurity-graphic.jpg?itok=3328HQld"}}},"media_ids":["672619"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/security.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech Cyber Security"}],"groups":[{"id":"174291","name":"OIT"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"}],"keywords":[{"id":"183656","name":"oit feature"},{"id":"1404","name":"Cybersecurity"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["courtney.hill@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}