Information Security Awareness
Serious cyber threats continue to pursue individuals daily. If you connect to the internet, take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your device(s) from viruses or attacks.
Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.
Information Security Resources and Tips
There are many tips and resources available. We have highlighted several important tips below.
- Improve Your Password Security. Create a strong password that is unique for each device or account. To create strong passwords, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) suggests using simple, long, and memorable passwords or passphrases. (See Choosing and Protecting Passwords.)
- Treat all links/URLs in emails as suspicious and verify them first. If you are using a desktop or laptop with a mouse, hover your mouse or cursor over the link. Depending on your operating system and email client, where the actual destination of the link is displayed can vary. In Outlook, the true URL is displayed at the bottom left of the window. On a phone, tap and hold your finger over a link to view the full URL. Remember, secure links for CCU begin with https:// and lead to an authentic "coastal.edu" destination. For additional information security tips and how to protect yourself on the internet, see the next section that follows.
- Access the resource To Click or Not to Click (PDF) from the National Cybersecurity Alliance to learn tips and tricks to evaluate the online messages or texts you receive.
- Additional security tips »
Information Security Training for Employees
Information security awareness training is mandatory for ALL University employees and is required to be completed within 30 days of your initial email notice. Completion of the training is tracked through University Training and Development. Each of the Information Security Training modules contains a video and a quiz with five questions. Learn more »