Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Every year the University of Georgia is targeted by thousands of would-be cyber criminals looking to compromise university systems and steal information. Protecting the university’s information assets is the most critical mission for EITS, but all UGA employees should also practice good cybersecurity habits.

To help employees learn how to spot email scams, keep UGA data secure and stay safe online, the University System of Georgia requires cybersecurity training biannually, in April and October.

Spring training is now available in the Professional Education Portal, and all employees must complete it by April 30. 

“Regularly occurring cybersecurity awareness training is important, because threats are always evolving.  Universities and their employees continue to be a favorite target for threats like ransomware attacks and direct deposit paycheck theft,” says Ben Myers, UGA’S Chief Information Security Officer. “Without training, our faculty and staff may not be prepared to identify cyber threats or scams when they encounter them putting us all at greater risk.”

Phishing emails also continue to be a daily threat; in the fall 2019 semester, more than 3,000 phishing emails were reported to EITS. Of those 3,000 about 100 people said they fell for the initial phishing scam.

USG’s cybersecurity training covers a variety of topics including the importance of cybersecurity, data classification and management, and threats to cybersecurity and incident reporting.

Faculty, staff and student employees who have questions about the USG Cybersecurity Awareness Training should contact the Human Resources Service Desk at (706) 542-2222 or e-mail hrweb@uga.edu.