We are not going to Key West for some rays and fishing, but MCC has been under attack from a spear phishing attack. Spear Phishing is very similar to the old phishing emails that have been around for ages. These are the emails that are sent from your bank to <undisclosed recipients> and ask you to go to a web page and fill in your personal information including account numbers, date of birth, mother’s maiden name, etc. Everyone has seen them and HOPEFULLY, deleted them immediately. The new trend is a spear phishing email. It is very similar but it ties your account with the attack and uses information that you may believe.
Here’s an example of the latest attempt coming in from various email addresses and various subject lines, but the content is usually the same…
Attention!
On October 22, 2009 server upgrade will take place. Due to this the system may be offline for approximately half an hour. The changes will concern security, reliability and performance of mail service and the system as a whole. For compatibility of your browsers and mail clients with upgraded server software you should run SSl certificates update procedure. This procedure is quite simple. All you have to do is just to click the link provided, to save the patch file and then to run it from your computer location. That's all.
https://updates.monroecc.edu.secure.upd-center.org/ssl/id=709743004887-pbaretela@monroecc.edu-patch461780.exe
Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter and sorry for possible inconveniences.
System Administrator
ETS is not sending these emails and will never notify any users about system updates directly. All system updates will be published in the Daily Tribune and any user action will be noted there. If you should happen to see one of these messages, please do not click on the link. Also remember to never provide login information to anyone. You are responsible for the proper use of your network account as outlined in the Code of Conduct for Users of Monroe Community College Computer Systems (https://www.monroecc.edu/depts/policies/MCCcompcond.htm).
David Lane
Communications and Network Services
10/20/2009 |