Welcome to PSS Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Large-scale cyberattacks make the news, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Cybercrime is on the rise, and most attacks go unreported.

Consider the following facts:

• The University of Maryland found that there is an average of 2,244 cyberattacks per day, which is one every 36 seconds.
• The US Federal Trade Commission, in a recent 6-month period, had seen over 128,000 phone-based fraud scams that cost victims a whopping $108 Million – that’s only half a year!
• The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) reported that small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) are being targeted at an increased rate.

This week's theme will be 'Cyber at Work'. We need to always remain vigilant to protect the lifeline of our university. Here are some actions to stay safe:

• Be careful what you post and share online
• Don’t reuse passwords for multiple sites
• Use multifactor authentication
• If something seems suspicious, always verify that it’s legitimate

In the time it took you to read this document, there were multiple cyberattacks across the globe. Make sure you stop, look, and think before you take any sort of action. 

Lastly, we would like to leave you with some additional mobile device activities that will allow you to continue to build your wealth of information pertaining to Cybersecurity:

• Google Play application link | https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Cybersecurity+and+Infrastructure+Security+Agency
• Apple App Store application link | https://apps.apple.com/us/app/defend-the-crown/id1550656752

To learn more about the Cybersecurity Awareness Program, visit https://www.purdue.edu/securepurdue/Cybersecurity/index.php or email Nolyn Johnson at cyberaware@purdue.edu.