Cyber Security Newsletter - November 2023: 4 Reasons to Boost Your Cyber Awareness

Cyber security awareness is crucial in today’s digital world – it doesn't just help you keep your own data safe, it also helps everyone at Laurier keep our institution's data safe.

Improving Cyber Awareness at Laurier – 2022 vs. 2023

Since launching our phishing exercises we have seen an improvement of 52% in students and 49% in staff over the past year. In addition, there has been a rise in reports from both groups to the security team of suspected phishing attempts.

Here are 4 reasons why you should keep boosting your cyber awareness:

1) Education is the best defence

While cyber security tools can help minimize threats, these tools are most effective when they are paired with a cyber aware community. 

According to a recent Microsoft report:

• Nearly 80% of malware incidents occur within academic institutions.
• The academic sector is the #1 target for ransomware attacks.
• Canada is the third-most popular target in the world for ransomware attacks.

Ensuring everyone at Laurier is informed and cyber aware is key to preventing these incidents.

2) You'll get to learn the language of cyber security

Cyber security and IT can be full of acronyms and terms you don't hear every day.

Having a solid understanding of cyber security vocabulary and cyber security concepts can help you effectively communicate and report incidents when you come across them. 

3) Protecting yourself and protecting our community goes hand in hand

Cyber attackers rarely limit themselves to just one target – if your personal data is breached, your Laurier data might be at risk for being breached and vice versa. 

If a cybercriminal gains access to your Laurier account, they could use it to send phishing messages to your contacts – continuing to develop your cyber awareness can help you protect yourself and can also allow you to help those around you when they are faced with a cyber incident.

4) You'll be better at dealing with cyber attacks

Cyber threats and incidents are always possible – being able to recognize and identify the signs of a cyber attack will help you minimize the effects.

Being able to respond calmly when faced with a cyber attack will also allow you to handle the situation more effectively.

Thank you for continuing to keep our community cyber aware, stay cyber safe!