Phishing is a cyber crime through which criminals contact their victims via email, phone calls, text messages or fraudulent websites. They pose as legitimate institutions and lure people into giving sensitive data such as banking and credit cards details, usernames, IDs and passwords.
Once they have fraudulently obtained your password, there is nothing to stop them from signing into networks and systems to gain access to sensitive and privileged information.
eish! spoke to Boeta Pretorius, chief director of IT, about the dangers of phishing scams in particular.
Don’t get reeled in
“Educause, an international non-profit association that helps higher education elevate the impact of IT, has identified cyber security and privacy as the number one and two issues for universities entering the new digital era,” says Boeta.
“On average, approximately 40 million attacks take place every day globally and damage related to cyber crime will hit USD 6 trillion annually by 2021, according to Cybersecurity Ventures.
“It is very profitable for them and this is why these cyber criminals will go to any lengths to attack organisations such as universities. Phishing is one of their most common methods.”
Boeta gives these important tips:
It is important for all staff and students to be extra careful and avoid the phishing sharks. For one-stop IT support, click here.
The “seas” of the internet and email have become increasingly dangerous as cyber pirates take every opportunity to cause havoc and inflict major damage on companies and individuals.
Don’t get caught in the ‘phishing’ net
Fortunately, the NWU’s very capable Information Technology (IT) team have put several measures in place to protect staff and students from falling victim to cyber criminals. In the end, however, it is up to every person to make sure they don’t walk the plank when it comes to cyber fraud.
Boeta Pretorius is the chief director of IT.
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