Lynchburg ITR Promoting Student Cyberawareness

Information Technology and Resources (ITR) is actively looking at the measures to protect students and staff from cyber attacks at The University of Lynchburg. ITR are educating as well as protecting our technology from viruses, scams and other cyber attacks.

Joel Wendland, a network server specialist at The University of Lynchburg, explained that the University has several policies in place to protect the students and staff from cyber attacks.  The school currently has firewalls in place and Wendland stated that “anything we don’t allow in, can’t come in.” Currently the school is monitoring outside attacks such as false emails that impersonate employees here on campus. ITR informs students and staff “if you are unsure you can always ask someone in ITR,” said Wendland.

“When it comes to students and social media, the best practices to prevent cyber attacks would be to review privacy settings and ensure that you have strong passwords,” said Wendland.  An added security measure would be to utilize the two-factor authentication, this requires additional security codes which can be sent through text messages, to access accounts. Wendland says, “Be aware that if you post something that its kinda there forever, you can’t get rid of it.”

While Elmer Hoeksema, assistant professor of cybersecurity, says, “Clicking a link is currently one of the most effective ways to hack you…..all phones can be hacked through the browsers.”

As much as technology is a big part of our lives, it is important that any user of technology understands and accepts the fact that the cyber world is really unsafe. Individuals must use caution when dealing with the Internet. In addition, to preventing cyber attacks and being hacked it is important to update our software.

According to Hoeksema, virtual danger is probably a lot higher than the physical danger.  Therefore, student behavior is the first line of defense when it comes to using technology safely.

As the holiday season is approaching, preparing for online shopping individuals must be well aware of the risks and shop wisely.  “When shopping online, check to be sure the site is security enabled and look for the little padlock in the web address bar or a web address that begins with https://.” Therefore, shoppers must use safe payment methods that will ultimately protect our money.