Improving Cybersecurity Savvy at Long Beach State University
LONG BEACH, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2018) – Long Beach State University faculty and information technology experts are assessing the results of a phishing simulation campaign designed to improve the campus community’s abilities to protect sensitive data.
“Our goal is to promote the awareness of various types of cyber-attacks on our email and information systems, and to help our students, faculty and staff recognize threats and learn how to reduce the risk of becoming a victim,” Vice President and Chief Information Officer Min Yao said. “Additionally, we also seek assistance from our campus community to create and maintain a safer learning and working environment for students, faculty and staff.”
Phishing involves trickery, often perpetrated over email, intended to entice a target into clicking on a malicious link or to provide sensitive data to an unauthorized recipient. Faculty from the Department of Information Systems worked with members of the Division of Information Technology to design the simulation campaign, which took place in late September with approval from the campus Institutional Review Board. The first-of-its-kind operation was designed to see if a false promise of reward (theme park tickets) or fear (an emailed threat) would be more effective at deceiving someone into clicking on a provided link or submitting data.
“With our combined efforts, the campus will be able to create more effective training materials on phishing awareness,” campus information security officer, Aysu Spruill, said.
An early look at the results show the promise of reward was more likely to provoke a bad decision. Nonetheless, nearly 90 percent of recipients did not click the link nor provided information. Those who did will receive anti-phishing training so they don’t fall victim to an actual cybercrime.
“Phishing is certainly a negative experience that comes with many consequences including financial and institutional damage,” said Mohamed Abdelhamid, assistant professor of information systems. “Phishing simulation is method that helps employees learn through experience without the negative consequences that come with it."
The FBI tallied more than 25,000 cases of phishing and similar crimes known to have been nationally committed in 2017.
“Recent advances in technology allow cybercriminals to launch phishing campaigns effortlessly and cost-efficiently. Even a relatively low response rate of 1 to 2 percent can yield significant returns for cybercriminals, especially considering that criminals can send thousands of such emails per day,” said Spiro Samonas, an assistant professor of information systems.
The phishing simulation followed the campus’ establishment of an interdisciplinary cybersecurity minor. The program includes coursework offered through the departments of Computer Engineering and Computer Science, Information Systems and Journalism and Public Relations to teach lessons on such subjects as network security and Internet politics.
VIDEO: Assistant professor Mehrdad Aliasgari, Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science, on keeping digital information secure.
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Reporters interested in covering Long Beach State’s simulation campaign or other cybersecurity topics may contact Andrew Edwards to speak with campus experts.
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About the campus: Long Beach State University is a teaching-intensive, research-driven university committed to providing highly valued undergraduate and graduate degrees critical for success in the globally minded 21st century. Annually ranked among the best universities in the West and among the best values in the entire nation, the university’s eight colleges serve more than 37,500 students. The campus values and is recognized for rich educational opportunities provided by excellent faculty and staff, exceptional degree programs, diversity of its student body, fiduciary and administrative responsibility and the positive contributions faculty, staff, students and more than 300,000 alumni make on society.
