Tis the Season - Omicron Schemes and Spoof Sites

As we wrap up the Fall 2021 term and start thinking of the holidays, be aware of a dramatic increase in cyber activity against higher education.  Easy-to-spot phishing e-mails are being replaced by sophisticated, topical messaging.  These are designed to install malware on your computer, or get your login credentials. 

The most recent phishing campaigns use 'urgent' COVID-19 messaging containing links to fake login pages to get the message, or invitations to Microsoft Teams meetings with malware infested links or attachments.  These are not simple to identify.  The login pages are often spoofed copies of legitimate single sign on pages. Similarly beware of invitations to Teams meetings on short notice or from external sources.

If you happen to receive an "urgent" Omicron-variant related message, think twice about reacting to it.  Our College communications follows a similar pattern - posting in Staff News, a COVID web page on our website, etc.  If the communications is out of the ordinary, it could very well be a phishing  attack.

This increase in attacks against higher education is highlighted in the following article https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/12/07/study-credential-thieves-targeting-universities-using-covid-themes-sophisticated-spoof-sites.aspx