Happy Friday, everyone!

Today I want to remind you of recurring emails that appear to be from Microsoft. I also want to answer a great question I received.

Current Threats

• Microsoft Storage Emails (phishing)
  • I have received many questions about this kind of email.
  • The sender claims to be Microsoft, but the @domain is a typical domain used by hackers.
  • The subject varies, but it often has something to do with your account, files, photos, etc., no longer being accessible by you.
  • The message most often tells you about being over your storage limit for OneDrive, Outlook, etc.
  • The message also includes a link for you to manage your storage, but please do not click this link.
  • The message also gives a quota that is much smaller than our actual quota at UT.
  • Several years ago, when UT first started using OneDrive, we all had personal accounts but that changed shortly thereafter.
  • Keeping that in mind, this is not about your personal account and if you still had a legitimate personal account, it should not be named <yournetid>@utk.edu.
  • If you get this kind of email, please click the red Report button at the top of your Outlook ribbon and report as phishing.
  • You can always ask me about it first if you have concerns.
  • In addition, UT Faculty, Staff, and Students get 5 TB of storage, while others such as Friends of the University, including many emeritus faculty, adjunct faculty, and county-paid Ag Extension employees, get 100 GB of storage.
  • Please go to Microsoft OneDrive: Check Your Quota to find out how to check your quota.
  • And please keep in mind that if you are nearing your quota, OIT will contact you, not Microsoft.

Ask Your CISO

• Can iPhones get viruses or malware? Can we run an antivirus to check and any remedies to fix?
  • We do tend to hear that iPhones, and pretty much any Apple products, are protected from hackers and vulnerabilities, but that is not the case.
  • These products are not involved in the vast number of attacks as all the other products, but they can still be vulnerable or hacked.
  • The very first thing to remember is to keep your OS updated and using the automatic update option is the most effective way to do that.
    • Go to Settings > General > Software Update and then make sure Automatic Updates are turned on.
    • These automatic updates will download and install when the iPhone or iPad is connected to WiFi, is sufficiently charged, and is locked (typically meaning overnight).
    • If your iPhone or iPad is not up to date, you can go run any available updates yourself.
  • In addition to the updates, you can get an antivirus app for your iPhone or iPad.
  • Norton 360 Security & VPN is one of the better options and it isn’t free, but it does offer three different plans depending on your needs.
  • You can get Norton 360, as well as other antivirus apps for your iPhone and iPad, by downloading from the Apple App Store.
  • Just as with any app you’re interested in downloading from the Apple App Store or Google Play, make sure it is from a reputable source, has a large number of downloads since first being published, and has a high rating of 4 stars or more but be sure to read the 1-star reviews to make sure data security is not mentioned as a concern.

Thank you so much for all you do to help protect the Institute’s data. If you have questions about a specific email that may or may not be a threat or if you have a general question you would like for me to answer, please don’t hesitate to let me know. When you ask me things, it helps me know how to better educate the UTIA family about IT Security.

Sandy

Important Note: Thank you so much for sharing these e-newsletters with family, friends, clients, students, and anyone else who may benefit from the information. I would like to stress that you should keep your students in mind, as non-employee students will not get this information without someone sharing. If anyone has an email group for students who are not employees of your department, please let me know what that address is, and I can include it. I do this as a blind copy so student names and addresses will not show up!