Information Security

Mission Statement

The Information Security Office is committed to lowering the risk profile of the University’s electronic information by implementing industry best practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of student, faculty, and staff information. We uphold the University’s compliance obligations by developing information security policies, providing security awareness training, and overseeing the implementation of strategic information security initiatives.

Scam of the Week

Fake It ‘Til They Take It

Imagine answering your phone and hearing a family member's voice. They tell you they’ve been arrested, and they need you to send money immediately for them to be released from jail. You feel completely shocked, and you might immediately feel like you need to send them as much as they need.

But the voice that you’re hearing is actually completely fake! Cybercriminals find videos of your friends or family on social media, and then use AI to make a replica of their voice. The scammers then use the cloned voice to call you. They hope that if you hear a familiar voice, you will not stop to verify what's actually happening. They usually ask you to send money using methods that are difficult to track, such as wire transfer, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Anything you send them is nearly impossible to recover!

Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to AI voice cloning scams:

Set up a secret code word with close family members. Choose something that can't be found online and use it to verify each other's identity in emergencies.
If someone you know calls you and claims to need money immediately, hang up and call them back directly using a known phone number to verify their story.
Be mindful of receiving unusual instructions, such as being asked to send a large amount of money in an unusual way. If someone is in jail, it’s highly unlikely that they would ask for money to be sent using cryptocurrency!

Time It Takes a Hacker to Brute Force Your Password in 2025
Hardware: 12 x RTX 5090 | Password hash: bcrypt(10)

Number of Characters	Number Only	Lowercase Letters	Upper and Lower Case Letters	Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters	Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters, Symbols
4	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly
5	Instantly	Instantly	57 minutes	2 hours	4 hours
6	Instantly	46 minutes	2 days	6 Days	2 weeks
7	Instantly	20 hours	4 months	1 year	2 years
8	Instantly	3 weeks	15 years	62 years	164 years
9	2 hours	2 years	791 years	3k years	11k years
10	1 day	40 years	41k years	238k years	803k years
11	1 week	1k years	2m years	14m years	56m years
12	3 months	27k years	111m years	917m years	3bn years
13	3 years	705k years	5bn years	56bn years	275bn years
14	28 years	18m years	300bn years	3tn years	19tn years
15	284 years	477m years	15tn years	218tn years	1qd years
16	2k years	12bn years	812tn years	13qd years	94qd years
17	28k years	322bn years	42qd years	840qd years	6qn years
18	284k years	8tn years	2qn years	52qn years	463qn years