"Mur Murchane" Archive

CIO Mur Muchane offers Internet security recommendations

June 27, 2017

This is a message emailed to students, faculty and staff June 27 by Mur Muchane, associate vice president for information technology and chief information officer:

A malicious software program named “Petya” has recently made European news through large-scale infections in more than 150 different countries. “Petya” is a type of malicious software known as ransomware; it is similar to the May 2017 global ransomware known as “WannaCry”. It is most often downloaded as an attachment as part of a phishing email scam, and then gains access to the computer and locks the user out of their hard drive.

Here’s how you can protect yourself:

• If your computer requests a reboot, please allow the reboot to happen. Microsoft continues to release security patches for affected versions of Windows – Information Systems will continue to push the patches to University owned computers as they become available.
• Set up Google 2-Step Verification to protect your email, WIN, and other WFU accounts.
• Ensure that your data is backed up.
• Be aware of phishing emails that ask you to click on a link or open an attachment, especially when you do not know the sender. Be even more cautious when that link or attachment asks you for your password. If a website does ask for your credentials, feel free to contact the Information Systems Service Desk to determine if the request is valid.
• Keep all of your personal devices such as iPads, laptops, and smartphones current on software updates.
• Be aware that some mobile applications may be susceptible to hackers and marketers so be selective when downloading apps.

Specific details on how to implement these security measures can be found here.

If you have questions concerning this message or need assistance, please contact the Information Systems Service Desk at help@wfu.edu or 336-758-4357 (HELP).