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

This Job Won’t Work

You receive a text message from a “recruiter” who says they work for Amazon. It seems suspicious, since it was sent from a personal email address instead of a phone number. However, what catches your attention is that the message says you're a perfect fit for a remote job that pays $250 to $500 per day. You would only need to work 60 to 90 minutes per day, for four days each week, and the work isn’t difficult. There are only a small number of roles available, and since the job seems too good to be true, you might be tempted to reply immediately.

But the text you received is actually a scam! Cybercriminals are hoping to trick you using a fake job offer that is too good to ignore. If you reply, they may even give you small tasks to make the job seem legitimate. But eventually, they’ll ask you for your personal and financial information as part of your “onboarding.” Since this “job” isn’t real, any information you send goes straight to the cybercriminals!

Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to this scam:

If something seems suspicious, trust your instincts. It’s unlikely that a real Amazon recruiter would message you unexpectedly from a personal email address.
If an opportunity seems too good to be true, it usually is! Use caution before applying for jobs that have vague descriptions and list high salaries for what seems to be a small amount of work.
Cybercriminals like to use high-pressure tactics to trick you into responding quickly. Always stop and think before you take action!

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