As you know, October was, National Cyber Security Awareness Month, , a time to spotlight best practices for staying safe online. This year, during the month of October, we focused on understanding and combating phishing attacks—a leading cause of data breaches and cyber incidents worldwide. Whether you’re working from the office, home, or on the go, staying vigilant against phishing is everyone’s responsibility., What Is Phishing?, Phishing is a cybercrime where attackers impersonate legitimate organizations via email, text, or other forms of communication to steal sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or company data. Phishing emails often appear urgent, contain suspicious links or attachments, and may request personal or business details., October’s Phishing Campaign: What you Saw, As part of our ongoing training and awareness initiatives, we conducted a series of simulated phishing emails. Here’s what you saw: Simulated Phishing Emails: You all received a wide range of emails that mimic real phishing attempts. These are safe and designed to help you recognize suspicious patterns. We cultivated a range of difficulty for this month’s campaign to try to ensure you are aware…, Remember, – There are NO penalties for falling for a simulation, just learning opportunities! , How to Spot a Phishing Email, Check for spelling and grammar mistakes or unusual requests. Be wary of urgent or threatening language, like “Your account will be closed!” Hover over links to see the actual web address before clicking. Never provide personal or company information via email unless you’re sure of the sender’s identity. Verify suspicious requests by contacting the sender through a trusted channel. Verify THEN…, What Should You Do If You Suspect Phishing?, Do not reply to the message or click any links. Report the email using the Report Phish button located in your top Outlook Menu Bar, and then delete the suspicious message from your inbox. , Let’s Be Cyber Smart Together!, Every UMPO employee plays a vital role in protecting our organization from cyber threats. Thank you for your participation in Cyber Security Awareness Month and for staying alert during our phishing awareness campaign. If you have questions or need support, reach out to our IT team at any time. Stay safe and remember: Verify, THEN, Trust! From your friendly InfoSec team, Brad Smith: bsmith@umassp.edu Iris Lyons: ilyons@umassp.edu Danny Galvin: dgalvin@umassp.edu Nick Bonczyk: nbonczyk@umassp.edu Brad Smith, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), was spotted walking around 50 Washington, congratulating everyone who completed the security awareness training and reported the suspicious email with candy!
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End of Year Holidays (Offices Closed), Veteran’s Day Tuesday, November 11 Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 27 Christmas Day Thursday, December 25, Offices Operating with Limited Personnel, Day after Thanksgiving Friday, November 28 Day before Christmas Wednesday, December 24, Personal Time for 2025 and 2026, Employees have until 1/10/2026 to use 2025 personal time. Employees will be granted personal time on 1/13/2026 for calendar year 2026. Employees may begin using 2026 personal time after 1/13/2026 for the week beginning 1/11/2026.
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