Your work device is home to data relevant to your role at UAB. And while UAB IT’s security team works hard on our cyber defenses, we also need you to be a good steward of data protection and cyber security.
In recent months, UAB IT’s Security Operations Center has received an influx of bad actors encroaching on UAB devices.
“We’ve had some sticky situations pop up over the last few weeks, with employees accessing personal accounts on UAB devices,” said Nicholas Vining, information security associate with UAB Information Technology. “When they click a link in a non-UAB email account, and it's a phish, it opens a can of worms.”
When UAB users report phishing emails, UAB IT can cull them before they even reach your inbox. But bad actors can bypass the defenses security has set up for the enterprise when they come through a non-UAB account.
“While we can't stop phishing outright, the security team can take certain actions to protect UAB users from bad actors,” Vining said. “However, this only applies to the email inboxes of users in our environment, meaning @uab.edu accounts. If an employee logs into their personal email on a UAB device and is phished, we lose a lot of the oversight and control needed to properly investigate and resolve that incident.”
Recently, the SOC received an alert that remote access tools had been installed on a UAB device. The incident that led to the application being installed came from a user clicking on a malicious link in their personal inbox. The bad actors were able to gain control of the device and attempted to scan for sensitive information and download other software's to aide them.
“If this email had come through a UAB inbox, the team would have gotten alerts as soon as the threat entered the environment,” Vining said. “It was not until the remote tools were downloaded that a red flag went up. Luckily, the device was successfully isolated from the network, and the user’s credentials were reset.”
Remember, a phish is not your friend. When emails come in, check the sender of the message and investigate the content thoroughly before interacting. While the normal hallmarks of malicious emails are declining due to the use of AI, scammers still prey on the emotional reaction users may have from receiving urgent messages.
The best way to protect UAB data, and yourself, is to keep personal and work instances separate. If you need to check your personal email during work hours, use your mobile device or tablet. If you think you may have fallen for a malicious link that did not enter your UAB inbox, and need assistance, contact AskIT.