Phishing Scam Regarding Financial Services Provider John Hancock
ITS is aware of suspicious emails sent to members of higher education communities as part of a phishing scam aimed at obtaining individuals’ personal information. These emails appear to originate from the financial services provider John Hancock and instruct recipients to verify their records by clicking … Continue reading
Posted in Phishing |
Anthem-related Email Scams
The university has been alerted to several scams related to the recent cyber attacks against the medical insurance provider Anthem. Continue reading
Posted in Education, Hoaxes, Phishing |
FBI Issued Warning – Destructive “Wiper” Malware
The FBI released a warning to a wide range of companies that a U.S. business had experienced a malicious software that wipes data from every hard drive it touches. This malware (some refer to as “wiper”) overwrites computers beyond the point … Continue reading
Posted in Malware |
Fake UPS/FedEx/DHL email
Every year around this time, we see a significant increase in the volume of fake email claiming to be from UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. Please examine these messages carefully before opening/saving an attachment or clicking on a link. The attachments … Continue reading
Posted in Hoaxes, Malware, Phishing | Tagged fake email, fedex, ups
Kerberos KDC Flaw Requires Microsoft Out-of-Band Patch
BACKGROUND Hackers have bypassed Microsoft’s previous security patch to address the Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) remote code execution flaw resulting in the company issuing an out-of-band patch this week. IMPACT The vulnerability could allow remote elevation of privilege in … Continue reading
Posted in Patch Tuesday, Security Updates |
Phishing Attempts Targeting Direct Deposits
Various universities have reported an increase in the number of attempts to access employee account information by individuals masquerading, in an email or other communication, as representatives of the university’s human resources or employee benefits department. The attackers’ goal is … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Social Networking |
Recognizing Malicious Pop-Up Windows
Some users have reported encountering pop-up windows similar to those below while online. Note that this is not limited to browsing while on the USC networks. This may occur through any connection to the Internet, including home and public wireless … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Malware |
Staying Safe Online for Consumers
The booklet below, prepared by the ITS Information Security Office, contains important safety tips for browsing and shopping online. Staying Safe Online For Consumers [PDF]
Posted in E-Commerce, Education, Malware |
Sandworm Vulnerability Requires Another Fix from Microsoft
BACKGROUND Hackers have bypassed Microsoft’s security patch to address the Sandworm vulnerability in Windows resulting in the company issuing another advisory and warning users of the new threat. IMPACT The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens … Continue reading
Posted in Malware, Security Updates | Tagged microsoft, sandworm, security advisory
Adobe Flash Vulnerability Currently Being Exploited
BACKGROUND There is a vulnerability in Adobe Flash that is being exploited in large scale attacks. The vulnerability is being tracked as CVE-2014-0569 (http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2014-0558) on the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database. The exploit includes memory corruption vulnerabilities and an integer overflow vulnerability that … Continue reading
Posted in Malware, Security Updates | Tagged adobe, exploits, security advisory, software patches and updates