Email phishing is one of the most prevalent attacks directed at Drake––over 100 million fraudulent emails are sent each year. That’s why ITS works to educate faculty, staff, and students about avoiding these attacks designed to convince us to give away our information.

October was National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and ITS shared tips all month on how to remain safe online. Until Nov. 17, ITS is holding its second annual Phishing Quiz, where faculty, staff, and students take a short quiz to learn how to identify these dangerous attacks. Thanks to some local businesses and campus partners, we’re giving away six great prize packages. Enter by going to drake.edu/its/phish. And, look for ITS staff at a table in the Olmsted breezeway on Thursday, Nov. 9, between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Spin the prize wheel and answer an IT security question for another chance to win.

In mid-November, we’ll be re-launching phishing simulation training for faculty and staff using a new tool called Knowbe4. This training creates emails that look like actual phishing attacks as an effective way to teach us how to identify and report them, all in a risk-free environment. It also has short videos that we will be using to help reinforce this training.

Our goal with these initiatives is to empower campus to keep personal and University data secure. Together we can be good stewards of the important information that has been entrusted to us.

—Peter Lundstedt, ITS