October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Every year, Technology Solutions develops a special campaign to raise awareness on how the UIC community of students, faculty and staff can better detect and protect themselves from cybercrime. This year’s NCSAM campaign is “True Stories,” featuring real scam attempts at UIC.

In today’s hybrid work and learning environments, scammers have more opportunities to target individuals online, making many of us more susceptible to cyberattacks and identity theft. It is important for UIC community members to know how to identify scam attempts, how to keep data and information safe and what to do if they’ve been targeted.

Phishing & Email Scams

A common email scam the UIC Community may come across is known as phishing. Scammers send emails aimed at tricking recipients into thinking they are legitimate. They can appear to be from a business, classmate, professor or even the university. Their goal is to get you to open an attachment or click on a link to a fake website and enter sensitive information like your login and password.           

Read Week 1 “True Stories: Beware of Phishing & Email Scams” for scam attempts encountered on campus, how to identify a phishing email and what to do if you’ve accidentally fallen victim.

Student 2021 NCSAM Campaign — Win a $50 UIC gift card

Technology Solutions kicked off the 2021 NCSAM student awareness campaign Oct. 4. As part of the campaign, UIC students will receive an email every Monday in October at 8 a.m. with a link to learning material and an invite to take a cybersecurity quiz for a chance to win a $50 gift card to UIC Bookstore!

The Week 1 quiz closes at 11:59 p.m Sunday, Oct. 10. Don’t miss your chance to test your cybersecurity knowledge and win a $50 gift card to UIC Bookstore!

UIC Information Security and Privacy Office

The UIC Information Security and Privacy Office is committed to protecting the UIC community from active and potential security threats by providing tools, information and proactive guidance that enables the UIC community to keep their personal information, and the university’s data and information, safe and secure.

Visit it.uic.edu/security for more information on cybersecurity and staying safe online.