Date, Time, and Location

Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 10:40 a.m. – 11:25 a.m.
Commonwealth Room, 50 Washington Street, Westborough

Session Description

The people who protect University data are the people who use it every day. This session covers how attacks actually arrive and what staff are expected to do when one reaches them.

We open with the threat landscape and why employee accounts are a primary entry point, and what an attacker gains from a single compromised login. The core of the session is phishing: the impersonation and baiting tactics behind it, the indicators that give a message away, and exactly how to report one you're unsure about.

We then turn to AI deepfakes and social engineering; synthetic voice and video used to impersonate colleagues and leadership, and the pretexting and urgency patterns underneath them. The defense is procedural, not technical: verify unusual requests through a second, known channel before acting.

The session closes with handling sensitive data, the need-to-know access, securing screens and documents, and how to report a suspected incident. Knowledge checks run throughout, and a final test confirms completion of the required training.  

Session Documentation

Available upon request.

Speaker Bios

Brad Smith

Brad Smith serves as the Chief Information Security Officer for the UMass President’s Office. He has worked for the University since May of 2018. His prior positions include:

  • Technology and Management Consultant for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, AARP, New England Power
  • Professional Services Consultant Digital Equipment Corporation.
Iris Lyons

Iris Lyons is the Information Security and Disaster Recovery Lead at the UMass President’s Office. She started at UMPO in 2013 but after a brief hiatus returned in 2023 to the best office in the organization. Her prior positions include:

  • Service Delivery Manager at Modo Labs
  • Senior Project Manager at Hanover Insurance Company
  • Senior Project Manager at UMPO

Iris holds a bachelor’s degree from MCLA and is a member of ISACA.

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