Dear colleague,
As you may have seen from recent media coverage, there has been a growing number of cyber attacks in recent weeks affecting major retailers such as Marks & Spencer, the Coop and Harrods. There have also been cyber attacks targeted at schools in West Lothian Council and the City of Edinburgh Council during peak exam time.
Whilst we have a range of technologies in place and teams working hard to help protect us, Information Security is a shared responsibility, and you are one of our most important defences against cyber criminals.
The advent of AI, together with technical advances, has enabled attackers to produce more sophisticated attacks which makes them quicker and more difficult to detect. These are usually phishing attacks designed to trick people in to clicking a link or disclosing information and can be conducted via email, phone, social media or text message.
Please continue to be cautious about the emails or other communications you receive, particularly those with links or attachments or where the sender is creating a sense of urgency, and report suspicious emails, phone calls or text messages. Emails can be reported using the Report Phishing button in Outlook.
If you haven’t completed the annual refresher of the mandatory Data Protection and Information Security training courses, please complete these now and ensure you are familiar with the University’s Information Security Policies. Training compliance is monitored, with regular reporting to Heads of School and Directors of Professional Services, Information Governance Committee and onwards to Audit & Risk Committee.
Further details on the training, policies and how to identify and report phishing can be found on the Information Security pages on StaffNet.
Thank you for your continued support in keeping our data and systems safe.
Best wishes,
Ian
Ian Robotham
Interim Director of Digital & Information Services