In October, the University System of Georgia joins thousands of organizations observing the 16th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The overarching theme this year is “Own IT. Secure. IT. Protect IT.”

Within the USG, cybersecurity incidents are far more likely to result from lapses of judgment when we let down our guard than from successful attacks on our information systems. Throughout this month, USG Cybersecurity and GHC Information Security & Network Services will encourage personal accountability and proactive cyber-awareness behavior with weekly messages and other promotions.

During Week 1, let’s Play Hard to Get with Strangers. When we receive unsolicited email or messages from strangers, the best option is to not engage and delete: When in doubt, throw it out. If messages contain attachments or links, do not open or click on them.

Take care to review critical details in emails. Double-check the sender and take notice of unusual or suspicious language. Social engineers manipulate us into divulging confidential or sensitive information, giving up our account credentials and tricking us to change critical business information such as bank account numbers. They often pose as colleagues or vendors.

Do not help social engineers. Avoid forwarding suspicious messages to others. Even if you were not fooled, a message forwarded to someone else may fool them, thus amplifying the attack. Finally, if you see something, say something. Report suspicious or malicious messages to the IT Ticketing System (rt@highlands.edu).