OVERVIEW
Target audience: McGill community
Important: If the incident involves on-campus bullying, harassment or other potential risks to the health and safety of individuals, please contact McGill Security Services at 514-398-3000 immediately.
What counts as an IT security incident?
It's any event that threatens the security, privacy, or functionality of McGill IT systems, the data they store, and the people who use them. It's crucial to report these types of incidents as soon as possible so the impact can be assessed, and appropriate measures can be taken to protect the McGill community and prevent these sorts of incidents from recurring.
A few common examples are:
- A McGill account(s) becoming compromised*.
- A McGill website that’s been compromised and/or defaced.
- Work devices infected with malware, viruses or ransomware.
- Online harassment through McGill IT-provided services, such as email or Teams.
- Unauthorized use or access of McGill resources, devices, and/or data. This includes:
- The accidental sharing of files containing personal or confidential information with a broader audience than was intended.
- Misuse of IT-provided resources for personal gain.
- Storing McGill data in solutions that have not been vetted and approved by McGill to ensure that they have proper data protection policies, security controls, and comply with regulations.
To report an IT security incident, contact the IT Service Desk at 514-398-3398 for immediate help.
*When an account is referred to as "compromised", it means that it has been accessed without the owner's permission. Logins from new devices, locations, or browsers could indicate a compromised account. A compromised account can be used for many different types of malicious activities, including tricking others into falling for phishing scams and gaining access to systems that store personal and/or sensitive information.
Lost or stolen devices
For lost or stolen devices, contact McGill Security Services at 514-398-3000, or visit the Security Services Lost and Found site.
If the device in question is:
- a McGill-provided device, or
- a personally owned device that had McGill data stored on it or saved McGill credentials that the thief could use to gain access to McGill systems
Please also contact the IT Service Desk as soon as possible.
Suspicious emails
ATTENTION:
If you have already clicked a link or opened a file attachment in a suspicious email, please contact the IT Service Desk immediately by calling 514-398-3398.
You can quickly report a suspicious email by using the Report Message, Report Junk, or Report Phishing buttons in any Outlook app, including Outlook on the web (https://outlook.com/mcgill.ca).
Note: If the email is already in your Junk Email folder, you do not need to report it.
For more details, see Report suspicious emails.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:
- Learn how to protect yourself from cyber-attacks at work and at home
- What is my McGill Username and how do I change my McGill Password
- Phishing scams and how to protect yourself https://www.mcgill.ca/cybersafe/phishing
- What to do if you are a victim of a phishing scam https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/en/resources/what-do-if-you-are-victim-phishing-scam