Phishing scam: "Subject: McGILL University is presently transiting from office365....
There is a phishing email targeting the McGill community, from "xxxxx [at] aesd.net" with the subject "McGILL University is presently transiting from office365 to outlook web application (OWA). Kindly click the link below for update from our transition department about your mailbox.".
The email asks the recipient to click on a fraudulent link "#####". See an example of the message to the left.
Phishing scam: "Subject: RE: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Information!
There is a phishing email targeting the McGill community, from "xxxxx [at] monroe.k12.mi.us" with the subject "RE: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Information!". The email asks the recipient to click on a fraudulent link "MFAI". See an example of the message to the left.
Phishing scam: e-message from mcgill.ca Xerox Priority-Scanner
There is a phishing email targeting the McGill community from "mcgill.ca-Xerox-03 <xxx [at] nucleus.com>". The message appears to be coming from a McGill Xerox scanner and includes a clickable link to view a fax. See an example of the message to the left.
2FA required for all accounts by end of 2021
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is applied to all new McGill student and staff accounts as of January last year. Since May of 2020, remote access to McGill systems through the Virtual Private Network (VPN), also requires 2FA.
Announcing Secure your journey - McGill's cybersecurity awareness campaign
Secure your journey is McGill’s cybersecurity awareness campaign.
Its goal is to influence the adoption of best practices throughout the community to protect McGill’s data and systems as well as our own information.
At McGill, we are all on a journey. Although we may each work towards different goals during our time here, we all have one thing in common: Each one of us needs to stay safe from beginning to end.
Enforced Windows system updates
On February 1, 2020, IT Services will begin enforcing restarts for all IT-managed Windows systems with pending updates.
Phishing scam: "Subject: Raw Materials"
There is a phishing email targeting the McGill community, from "xxxxx [at] est.ups.edu.ec" with the subject "FW: Raw Materials". The email asks the recipient to click on a fraudulent link "Check New".
Phishing scam: "Busy"
There is a phishing email targeting the McGill community, from "chieffexecutivemanager [at] gmail.com" with the subject "Busy". The example we received says, "Are you free to handle a task now?
Minerva/ Banner/ uApply/ myProgress monthly downtime for March
Minerva, Banner, uApply (the Graduate Admissions System) and myProgress (degree progress tracking) will be unavailable from Saturday, March 13 at 10 pm to Sunday, March 14 at 12 pm (noon), during scheduled monthly maintenance. See all scheduled monthly downtimes for these systems.
Banner/Minerva Upgrade Completed Successfully: all related systems and services are now up and running!
LATEST MESSAGE:
The scheduled upgrade of Banner INB/Minerva has been successfully completed and all related systems are now up and running!
We would like to thank you for your patience during the recent Banner downtime.
Original message posted February 4, 2021
Skype for Business service end of life – switch to MS Teams
Support for Skype for Business will be ending by summer 2021. For communications with McGill parties, including text messaging, audio and video calls, virtual meetings and filesharing, we recommend using Microsoft Teams.
For anyone currently using Skype for Business to make phone calls, we will soon be announcing plans for a new softphone solution. Stay tuned for further announcements in the coming weeks.
4 Weeks | 4 Prizes | 4 Reasons to opt in to 2FA
Contest for studentsHere are 4 reasons why students should get two-factor authentication (2FA) to protect their McGill accounts:
Gift card phishing scam: "Can you do me a favor?"
What is the gift card scam?You may receive an email that looks like it comes from one of your coworkers, saying something like: "Can you do me a favor?"
If you reply, the next email asks you to purchase a gift card on their behalf. The message may say they need the card immediately, but they are too busy to do it, and they will pay you back as soon as possible.
These emails are not legitimate. They are being sent by malicious entities who are impersonating people in your contacts list to gain your trust and exploit you. These kinds of fraudulent emails, known as "phishing", attempt to gain your trust in order to access your personal and/or credit card information, or to get money (in the form of gift cards).
DO NOT click any links or reply to such messages. Delete these emails immediately!
IT Services Webinar
New to McGill? IT Services have much to offer! Get an overview of many of the services available to you as a new member of our McGill community by checking out this webinar (from last Fall’s virtual orientation event). Our IT experts walk you through many of the important services you may seek throughout your journey at McGill.
Flash player end of life December 31, 2020
Adobe has been announcing the end of support for Flash since 2017. As of December 31, 2020, Adobe will no longer distribute the Flash Player; no updates or security patches will be issued, and Flash will not be supported on web browsers. The company recommends that all users uninstall Flash Player before the EOL date. See the official announcement from Adobe.
