October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (#CyberMonth2022). Humber’s objective is to raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity, and to ensure our community has the resources and expertise required to protect the organization and themselves against phishing scams. By protecting yourself and your organization against phishing scams, you can foil a cyber criminal’s plans.  

With this objective in mind, Humber will be providing several cybersecurity themed activities throughout the month of October. Our hope is that all employees participate and master the art of spotting phishing scams. 

Initiative 1: Delivery of an Education Program 

Humber has partnered with the Government of Canada’s Communications Security Establishment to provide our community with resources and activities to support the national Get Cyber Safe initiative and further bolster Humber’s Security. The theme for #CyberMonth2022 is Fight phishing: Ruin a cyber criminal’s day. Here are the sub-themes in which we will be reflecting upon each week:  

• September 30: CyberMonth2022 Launch 
• Week of October 3: You got phished 
• Week of October 10: Where, why, and how it happens 
• Week of October 17: Prevention 
• Week of October 24: Putting it all together 

Throughout October, ITS will provide access to training videos, infographics and activities based on the sub-themes above. The delivery format will be on a weekly basis (as per sub-themes) through our training platform KnowBe4. Employees should expect to receive training enrollment and reminder emails from IT Security <do-not-reply@training.knowbe4.com>. 

Initiative 2: HSPP Partnership - Phishing Awareness Game - Season 2 

As part of our #CyberMonth2022 initiative, the phishing Awareness Game returns for a second season. The second season of the game reinforces our learning objectives of identifying phishing emails through red flags that are often been used by cyber criminals. In addition, players must correctly identify phishing emails in a hybrid work environment. Employees will receive an email with information on how to access the game in the coming week. Check out the teaser video in the Humber Communiqué. 

In addition, there will be a friendly competition between Humber and Seneca College. Employees will have the opportunity to play the game any number of times to improve their knowledge and skills in identifying phishing emails, thereby increasing Humber colleges’ overall score so please make sure to try the game until you get that perfect score. The leaderboard will show which college is winning in real-time.  

What is the HSPP Partnership? 

The Humber-Seneca Polytechnic Partnership (HSPP) was created to promote cooperation between institutions and enhance and expand learning opportunities as students begin, continue, or complete their postsecondary education. Leveraging the combined resources of Humber and Seneca, the HSPP also seeks to support collaborative activity rather than competition across institutions.  

Initiative 3: Phishing Simulations 

Throughout the month of October, Humber will deliver several simulated phishing emails to your Humber mailbox. These simulations will allow you to apply your cybersecurity knowledge to real world scenarios without the risks associated with a real cyber-attack. When you believe that you’ve received a phishing email, employees are encouraged to report them utilizing the Phish Alert Button (PAB).    

Finally, and most importantly, win prizes! 

As a small token of our appreciation of your continued support of our cybersecurity initiatives, weekly raffles prizes will be made available. You can earn raffle entries each week for completing and participating in our initiatives - the more you participate, the more entries you can earn. During the final week, a grand prize will be drawn, and all your accumulated raffle entries throughout the month will be eligible. 

To support our planned activities and to experiment with new technologies, we will once again be delivering some additional materials within Microsoft Teams thereby enabling collaboration, an open dialogue and engagement. To participate, join the GetCyberSafe Microsoft Team, and we will keep you informed as we release new material and activities. To join the team, do one of the following: 

Note: Those that participated last year may already be a member of our GetCyberSafe team. We have created a new channel (#CyberMonth2022), and reused the previous team, and hoped to utilize this team for more than just the Month of October in the future. While October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, cybercrime happens 365 days a year.

IT Security, Information Technology Services