Security Matters

The Ontario Cyber Security Centre of Excellence recently published an article about the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT, capable of human-like conversations and performing tasks such as generating content ideas and simplifying complex topics. However, there are significant cyber security risks associated with ChatGPT. These include the potential for malicious code generation, crafting convincing phishing ...

In June 2023, the University launched the Security Awareness Training (SAT) Foundations project as part of the broader Security Awareness and Training Program (SATP). Co-led by Raphaelle Gauriau, Manager, Information Security Strategic Execution, ITS and John Stewart, Information Security Program Manager, I&ITS, U of T Scarborough, the project aims to provide U of T staff, ...

The Office of the Chief Information Security Officer has officially released the University of Toronto’s Information Security Strategy. “The strategy was developed through a community-driven approach, involving extensive consultation with academic and administrative units and incorporates the voices of several community members. I thank everyone who contributed to this effort,” said Kalyani Khati, Associate Director, ...

Scammers use social engineering tactics to gain access to organizational systems and cause data breaches. One tactic that has increased recently is MFA fatigue, which overwhelms users with continuous MFA notifications (such as the UTORMFA Duo Mobile prompts) until they approve the login request to stop the surge of notifications being sent to their devices. ...

The Office of the CISO put together guidelines and quick tips to reduce the risk for our U of T community on both personal and University-owned devices.

Canadians lose millions of dollars in various scams and fraud every year, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. A tax-related scam is when a fraudster poses as an authority figure, usually as a CRA or Service Canada agent, to try to scare people into complying with their demands. These scams are designed to frighten people ...

On Jan. 25, over 370 University of Toronto staff and faculty from across the tri-campus community gathered online for a virtual panel event to learn how to protect students’ information and reduce the risk of data compromise or loss. The event was hosted by Information Security and Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Office ...

On Jan. 14 – 15, the University of Toronto’s Capture the Flag team, in collaboration with the Google Developer Student Clubs and Mathematical and Computational Sciences Society, held a hybrid Capture the Flag competition for U of T students across the tri-campus community. The event welcomed a total of 57 teams, made up of 134 ...

The University of Toronto’s Information Security social media accounts are intended to inform and educate the community about U of T’s information security programs, resources, events and news. To keep up with ever-evolving programs and messaging, the @UofTCyberAware accounts have been rebranded to @UofTInfoSec. The rebranding took effect on Jan. 23, 2023, and includes updates ...

Cyber Security Month is an international campaign held every October to highlight the importance of information security and help Canadians understand how to stay safe online. Cyber Security Month 2022 at the University of Toronto was hosted by the Information Security team, in partnership with Education, Awareness & Culture. This year’s campaign offered the community ...