Information Security

Mission Statement

The Information Security Office is committed to lowering the risk profile of the University’s electronic information by implementing industry best practices to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of student, faculty, and staff information. We uphold the University’s compliance obligations by developing information security policies, providing security awareness training, and overseeing the implementation of strategic information security initiatives.

Scam of the Week

FIFA Phishing

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway, and if you’re a fan of soccer/football, you might want to help! Luckily, you receive an email from someone claiming to be a FIFA recruiter. They say that your professional background is a strong fit for an available job. The email contains official FIFA branding and appears to be real. It instructs you to select a link to book an interview, and this offer might be exciting enough to tempt you to follow the instructions.

But the email was actually sent by cybercriminals! If you select the scheduling link in the email, you will be directed to a fake FIFA careers page. If you try to schedule your “interview,” you will be prompted to sign in with your Google, Facebook, or Microsoft account. But this sign-in page is not real, and the moment you enter your login information, cybercriminals will steal it!

Follow these tips to avoid falling victim to this phishing scam:

Remember, just because an email or webpage looks real doesn’t mean that it’s safe. Cybercriminals can easily send emails that look genuine and make convincing copies of real webpages. If an opportunity seems too good to be true, it usually is!
Be suspicious of any “recruiter” who sends a scheduling link before you've submitted an application. Real organizations do not typically offer interviews before you’ve applied for a job.
Always stop and think before you act! Cybercriminals can use exciting opportunities to trick you into acting quickly.

Time It Takes a Hacker to Brute Force Your Password in 2025
Hardware: 12 x RTX 5090 | Password hash: bcrypt(10)

Number of Characters	Number Only	Lowercase Letters	Upper and Lower Case Letters	Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters	Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters, Symbols
4	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly	Instantly
5	Instantly	Instantly	57 minutes	2 hours	4 hours
6	Instantly	46 minutes	2 days	6 Days	2 weeks
7	Instantly	20 hours	4 months	1 year	2 years
8	Instantly	3 weeks	15 years	62 years	164 years
9	2 hours	2 years	791 years	3k years	11k years
10	1 day	40 years	41k years	238k years	803k years
11	1 week	1k years	2m years	14m years	56m years
12	3 months	27k years	111m years	917m years	3bn years
13	3 years	705k years	5bn years	56bn years	275bn years
14	28 years	18m years	300bn years	3tn years	19tn years
15	284 years	477m years	15tn years	218tn years	1qd years
16	2k years	12bn years	812tn years	13qd years	94qd years
17	28k years	322bn years	42qd years	840qd years	6qn years
18	284k years	8tn years	2qn years	52qn years	463qn years