Another credit union phishing scam hits K-State
by the K-State Security Incident Response Team
published Jan. 24, 2006
A new phishing scam is hitting K-State inboxes today that appears to be from the
K-State Federal Credit Union. Don't be fooled; this is an attempt to steal your
account number and password.
The credit union does not e-mail customers when their online access has been locked.
Call the credit union at (785) 776-3003 whenever you have questions about e-mail that is
purportedly from that office.
K-State is now blocking the bogus log-in credit union page (which is located in Korea) and
has contacted the Internet service provider to get that website shut down. This is a
good example of how criminals can steal logos and create a deceptively realistic site -- in this case,
one that was targeted at thousands of K-State e-mail addresses.
See the spotlight section below for tips on dealing with phishing scams and
other IT security threats.
Personal Identifier Initiative at K-State
by L. Carlin, Data and Information Administration
published Jan. 24, 2006
K-State is accelerating its efforts to protect the Social Security numbers (SSNs)
of students, faculty, staff, and others through the Personal Identifier
Initiative. Coordinated by the Vice Provost for Academic Services and
Technology, the initiative has several objectives. These include
broadening awareness of the risk of identity theft linked to disclosure of the SSN;
reducing unnecessary collection, storage, and use of the SSN; and
developing and implementing consistent SSN policies in accordance with federal, state, and
university requirements.
The removal of the SSN from Wildcat cards as required by state law is one of the
first steps of this initiative. During the past month, the K-State ID Center has
replaced the Wildcat cards of faculty and staff. Students will receive their
new cards in April, to be used beginning May 22.
Additional steps to be taken this academic year include
modifying the Scantron system for student testing to accept the new
Wildcat ID number on student cards,
developing university policy on the SSN, and
creating an inventory of university information systems that include the SSN.
Once the policy and inventory are
completed, a schedule and plan for making changes to information systems will be
developed in coordination with affected university organizations. Though the
movement away from reliance on the SSN by university organizations will take
time and effort, steady progress can be made over the next few years.
A website has been created at www.k-state.edu/InfoTech/personalid to keep
K-Staters updated on this initiative and how it affects them. Visit the site and
send questions, concerns, and suggestions to pid@k-state.edu.
K-State recommends Software Update Services (SUS) for Windows
by R. Cheung, Computing and Network Services
published Jan. 24, 2006
K-State's Security Incident Response Team (SIRT) recommends that all
Windows 2000, 2003, and XP users (both on and off-campus)
configure their computer to use
Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS)
to automatically download and install
critical system patches onto their computers. Once SUS is installed,
your computer will check for updates on the K-State server every day at a
pre-set time
and automatically install any new updates.
Using SUS reduces the chance that your computer will miss getting an update and
eases the usage of Internet bandwidth when checking for updates on Microsoft's website.
In the case of immediate threats and virus outbreaks, it is faster to
reach the K-State update server rather than the Microsoft website, which
may not be available due to high-volume access by computers all over the
world. Please be aware that most of the security patches require you to reboot your computer to
complete the installation. For detailed instructions and installation
procedures, see
Using CNS Windows Update Services.
National Webcast Initiative Feb. 16
by A. Hagedorn, Information Technology Assistance Center
published Jan. 24, 2006
In support of security awareness and providing education for our users, K-State will once again participate
in the National Webcast Initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. At 2-3 p.m. Thursday,
Feb. 16, in Union 213, participants will learn about identity theft and what steps to take if they become a victim of
identity theft. This hour-long event is free of charge and requires minimum technical knowledge. Stay tuned
for conference details in future issues of InfoTech Tuesday.
IDT Roundtable series starts Jan. 26
by S. Mukherjee, Office of Mediated Education
published Jan. 24, 2006
The first session of the Spring 2006 series of the Instructional Design
& Technology Roundtable will be 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursday,
Jan. 26, in Room 212 of the K-State Student Union. The topic
will be Online Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes. In particular,
the presentation will focus on Different Strategies for Online
Assessments. Why assess online learners? Better yet, how? Discover the
rich variety of assessment strategies and tools on K-State Online. Come
learn how to use online assessment to measure your student learning
outcomes.
Three instructional designers will offer an overview of different online
assessment strategies based on Angelo and Cross's "Classroom Assessment
Techniques". Bring your ideas and questions! Learn more about IDT
Roundtable sessions. Coffee, tea, and water will be available, and you are
welcome to bring your lunch. RSVP to the Center for the Advancement of
Teaching and Learning (catl@k-state.edu, 532-7828).
IT by the numbers: President Bush's Landon Lecture Jan. 23
by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Jan. 24, 2006
For President George W. Bush's Jan. 23 Landon Lecture at Bramlage Coliseum,
K-State information technology staff -- Telecommunications, Office of Mediated Education, and Computing and Network Services --
worked through the weekend to provide voice, data, and media services for the White House staff,
Secret Service, and broadcast media. These are the numbers:
- Internet bandwidth was doubled to handle audio and video streams
- 32 voice lines were provided for the lecture
- 32 additional voice lines were extended inside Bramlage (provided by SBC to the building)
- 3 wireless access points were provided
- 25,856 weekend hits to the Landon lecture homepage
- 226,053 hits Monday to the Landon homepage (through end of lecture)
- 2,720 unique IPs requested the webcast (video)
- 1,433 unique IPs requested the audio stream
- 523 peak webcast (video) connections
- 517 peak audio connections
In addition, Educational Communications Center staff worked closely
with White House staff and media teams days in advance on all facets of the coverage of the
president's speech, including:
- Video to the DynaVision big screens in Bramlage
- Live video and audio to Cox Cable Channel 8 for Manhattan, Junction City, and the K-State residence halls
- Recording and re-airing on Cable Channel 8 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- Assisting all local media with their coverage
- Was the only media service using a multi-camera production
Bush's lecture is available as a webcast, audio file, and in text form on
the Landon Lecture Series' past speakers webpage.
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Questions on @k-state.edu, LISTSERV reply setting
by the editors, InfoTech Tuesday
published Jan. 24, 2006
Why did InfoTech Tuesday's
Jan. 17 article
say @ksu.edu is going to be used in the People Directory, but that same article used
@k-state.edu in an e-mail address?
The newsletter now uses @k-state.edu in both web and e-mail addresses,
as noted in a Jan. 3 article.
The upcoming change in the People Directory doesn't affect other K-State webpages. For the record, both
addresses continue to work.
You suggested doing a reply-to-owner to keep inappropriate replies from going to a list.
Wouldn't it be better to simply moderate the list? It would be easier to approve all messages
than to manually redirect only replies to the list.
Good suggestion, especially since list replies can be set up in several ways. Specifying a list moderator is
another good method to monitor and control what's posted to a list. For more information, K-Staters can see
LISTSERV documentation on the Reply-To keyword
and list maintenance and moderation keywords.
If you need assistance with your list's settings, send e-mail to
listhelp@k-state.edu.
Questions? Input?
TellTuesday@k-state.edu.
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