hooded and masked figure standing at a door holding a sack with app icons to represent attack surface

Fewer logins. Fewer risks. Fewer worries.

Every digital action leaves a trace: a social media post, a login, a data point, a download. Together, these traces form your attack surface, every possible way an attacker could reach you.

With over 48,000 students, 1,500 faculty and 3,100 support staff working on multiple systems and applications all connected through collaboration and openness, the University has many potential attack points. Our attack surface is very wide. That’s why cyber criminals would see the university as a valuable target.

The rise of organized cybercrime

Cyberattacks are no longer the work of lone hackers. Today’s phishing and social engineering campaigns are run by global criminal organizations that operate like businesses. These groups:

  • Use AI and data mining to craft convincing scams
  • Sell their services (“cybercrime-as-a-service”) to other criminals
  • Target user accounts to steal confidential and restricted data and credentials

Every personal account, email, or shared file adds to our collective risk. When users reuse account passwords, skip MFA, or overshare online, they create predictable target patterns for criminals to follow.

You can’t prevent a cyberattack from happening to you, but you can make yourself harder to target. If reducing your digital footprint reduces your risk of being victimized by fraud, theft or impersonation, what would you delete right away? 

trash can to represent delete accounts

Digital Self-Defence Toolkit to-do 🚩

☑ Take five minutes to review online accounts and subscriptions and delete what you no longer need or use.

Want to improve your cybersecurity awareness? 

Learn more tips and tricks by visiting Information Technology throughout Cybersecurity awareness month.