October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), dedicated to raising awareness about staying safe online. This year, SUNY Oswego is continuing to take a proactive approach by launching several initiatives to enhance cybersecurity across campus.
These initiatives include educational campaigns on various cybersecurity topics, tools to help protect your SUNY Oswego account, and an engaging phishing identification contest to test and improve your online safety skills.
New 16-character passwords
One way to stay safe online is to ensure you have a strong password. Passwords that are at least 16 characters with a mix of alphanumerics and special characters are harder to hack. Campus Technology Services (CTS) will be requiring 16-character passwords starting Oct. 1.
You don’t have to wait until Oct. 1 though to have a stronger password. To comply with the new policy, you can change your password now:
- Log in to the Account Tools website and click on “Change Your Password.” Use the tips below to come up with a strong password.
- From the left navigation, click on “Security Question” to make sure you have a security question set in the event you forget your new password. Make sure not to set personally identifiable information as the answer to your security question.
- If at any time you forget your new password, you can reset it at www.oswego.edu/reset as long as you completed step 2 above.
Here are some tips for creating your new password:
- Use a phrase that is at least 16 characters long to help you remember it.
- Use numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and any of the following symbols: ! @ # $ % ^ & * + _ - , . and spaces.
- Make your SUNY Oswego password different from any other password you use online, including those used for personal sites.
- Don’t write the password down anywhere
CTS appreciates everyone’s efforts to make your SUNY Oswego account safer. More information is available on the CTS account management page.
Phishing awareness
Starting Oct. 1, CTS wants to hear from you about the phishing scams you receive in your inbox. Google does a great job filtering out many phishing emails, but some do end up coming through, CTS noted. Use one or more of the following ways to participate and you’ll be entered into a contest for one of three $25 College Store gift cards.
Ways to enter the contest:
- Forward a phishing email received in your SUNY Oswego inbox (not the spam folder) to help@oswego.edu.
- Take a phishing quiz and see how good you are at identifying harder-than-usual phishing scams. Send your results to help@oswego.edu.
- Take an eight-minute LinkedIn Learning course and send your completed certification to help@oswego.edu.
The contest runs for the entire month, Oct. 1 to 31. Three winners will be randomly drawn and notified via email on Nov. 1.
-- Submitted by Campus Technology Services