Every day, more than 200,000 malicious emails are sent to Drake faculty, staff, and students.

Since July 1, over 18 million malicious emails have sent to drake.edu email addresses. Most of these have been blocked by our IT security tools, but even the best tools cannot catch every single email.

That’s why ITS works to educate campus about how to detect and avoid being caught by malicious emails that “phish” for personal and campus data.

In celebration of October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), ITS has been sharing tips and tools for keeping yourself safe online and not becoming a cyber-victim.

In November, we’re taking it to the next level:

Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1, ITS is holding a Phishing Derby, a contest where faculty, staff, and students can take a quiz to learn more about how to identify phishing emails and fraudulent websites. Each person who takes the quiz will be entered for a chance to win a Bluetooth speaker or headphones. Visit its.drake.edu/phish starting Nov. 1 to enter for your chance to win.

At the same time, we will be re-launching phishing simulation training with PhishMe for faculty and staff. Receiving emails that look like the real thing but cause no harm is an effective way to educate everyone about the dangers of phishing email without any actual risk.

The goal of these initiatives is to empower campus to be able to keep both their personal data and our institutional data secure. Learn more about IT Security at our ITS Security blog.

It takes a campus working together to keep everyone safe.

—Carla Herling, ITS