Security Matters

In an increasingly digital world, cyber security issues are an inevitable (and ever-growing) part of the landscape. Here is a brief roundup of some of the most interesting recent news items from the past month.

Information Technology Services (ITS) launched the Alibaba Cloud Enterprise Network (CEN) to provide lower latency connectivity for international students living in mainland China. To date (as of July 23, 2020), the CEN service has had a total of 728 unique logins. Within the last 24 hours, there have been a maximum of 90 concurrent connections, including 51 in Shanghai, 35 in Beijing and 13 in Shenzhen.

U of T continues to receive reports of common email phishing attempts crafted to look like enticing job opportunities, requests to update or migrate to a new system and more. Students, staff and faculty are encouraged to maintain caution when dealing with suspicious emails, texts or phone calls.

ORION is a not-for-profit organization offering critical infrastructure for collaboration and providing researchers, educators and innovators with tools and internet connectivity. ORION's new Ontario Cybersecurity Higher Education Consortium brings together representatives from 29 higher education institutions, including the University of Toronto (U of T), to collaborate on the preparation and response to cyber security threats.

Cyber criminals are capitalizing on the ongoing COVID-19 crisis by taking advantage of consumers’ vulnerabilities and uncertainties. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, there have been 766 reports and $1.2 million lost to COVID-19-related fraud between March 6 and May 1, 2020.

To address the unique cyber security needs facing remote workers as a result of COVID-19, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre), Canada’s authority on cyber security, is providing helpful advice and guidance on its website.

The Information Security Council (ISC) exists to ensure broad consultation in planning and decision-making processes as they relate to information security.

To ensure cyber safety isn’t compromised during this time of uncertainty and isolation, the Information Security team is regularly updating the Security Matters website with up-to-date tips, videos and resources.

Tax season is upon us and cyber criminals are using this opportunity to set traps for taxpayers. A common scam is phishing emails that purport to be official communications from tax filing companies or legitimate messages from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). They often contain deceptive language that entices the recipient(s) to follow specific instructions. ...

In February, IBM released its 2020 Threat Intelligence Index to highlight the most prominent cyber security risks and trends collected from the past year. With a good understanding of this report, organizations can make well-informed decisions on the battle against cyber crime and learn more about protecting data online. Cyber crime trends and approaches As ...