Written By: Shane\u00e9 Dawkins<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s blog post highlighting\u00a0<\/em>Cybersecurity Awareness Month<\/em><\/a>\u00a0is from NIST\u2019s Dr.<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>Shane\u00e9 Dawkins, Computer Scientist in ITL\u2019s Visualization and Usability Group. In this post, Shane\u00e9 \u00a0discusses Phishing attacks and scams, as well as ways to keep your information protected.<\/em><\/p>\n I have been a computer scientist in ITL\u2019s Visualization and Usability Group for about 10 years conducting research on the human aspects of information technology. At the end of 2019, an opportunity was presented to join the group\u2019s Usable Cybersecurity program and I jumped at the chance. I always kept up-to-date on the program\u2019s research projects, so I was very excited to join something that had such a great real-world impact. Six months later I became the project lead for our phishing effort, studying human susceptibility to phish emails.<\/p>\n Being Cyber Smart means having the awareness that anyone can be phished, and being on guard to protect yourself and your organization against phishing threats. When you receive an email, pause a moment to process the message and its content. Being Cyber Smart is not falling for common tactics \u2013 such as limited time offers or offers too good to be true \u2013 used by attackers to elicit a rash judgment under pressure, compelling you to click a fraudulent link or download a malicious attachment. Being Cyber Smart when it comes to phishing attacks is to stop and think about an email\u2019s sender and the message\u2019s content before you click.<\/p>\n Attackers can reach you through different avenues, including email or text message. Anyone can be phished \u2013 Phish can be sent to your work email address or personal email address. You may think you do not have access to anything worth stealing, but all of us are targets, not just upper management. Anyone can be an entry point to infect and expose a larger organization. Anything can be spoofed \u2013 the sender\u2019s email address, the content of the message, URLs, logos, everything!<\/p>\n NIST offers such a unique opportunity to do research that I enjoy with such amazing scientists. I am also able to learn about so many interesting topics from world-renowned scientists across NIST. Most of all, the work we do has such a great and positive impact on the real-world, addressing actual problems that people face!<\/p>\n More information about our Usable Cybersecurity program is at\u00a0https:\/\/csrc.nist.gov\/Projects\/Usable-Cybersecurity<\/a>. In addition to the phishing project, we have research projects on usable privacy, cybersecurity adoption and awareness, the Internet of Things, authentication, and more! Contact DVIRC<\/a> for more insights and information.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nHow did you end up at NIST working on cybersecurity projects?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What does being \u2018Cyber Smart\u2019 mean to you when it comes to phishing attacks?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What does the average person need to know about phishing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What is your favorite thing about working at NIST?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Anything else you would like to add?<\/strong><\/h2>\n