****PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY****

*Notice on University of Calgary cyber-attacks*
You may be aware the University of Calgary is in the process of recovery 
from a severe cyber-attack which resulted in widespread IT service 
disruptions for a week or longer. York University IT and Information 
Security have been closely monitoring the situation along with 
colleagues at many other Canadian Universities. This notice is to inform 
the York University community about this kind of attack and how we can 
reduce the risk of a similar attack.
*What happened*
While some details are still to be determined, ultimately the attack 
involved a kind of malware known as ransomware, which infects systems 
similarly to other viruses but then encrypts files making them 
inaccessible without a special key that the criminals behind it attempt 
to sell to the victim.
York University has experienced similar kinds of ransomware attacks over 
the past two years that have impacted specific computers and data. In 
most cases, data has been successfully restored from backup copies kept 
locally or on York network shared drives. York has never paid a ransom. 
In recent months, the frequency of such attempted attacks at York and 
elsewhere has increased greatly.
*How to protect against ransomware*
While York has deployed technology and systems to help prevent such 
attacks, including email filtering and removal of dangerous attachment 
types, anti-virus technology, and network-based attack filtering, 
protecting against ransomware and similar threats requires vigilance 
from the University community also. Important ways you can help include 
the following:

-Do NOT click links or open attachments in unsolicited email from people 
or groups you don’t recognize
-Keep your anti-virus software up to date and enabled; York provides 
*Trend Micro AV* 
<http://staff.computing.yorku.ca/support-services/your-york-computer/protecting-your-computing-devices/antivirus-software/>to 
all staff, faculty and students at the University
-Keep your computer up to date, including key software such as your web 
browser, Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight or Java
-Use York network shared drives, or similar that also has regular 
backups, to store important information, and ensure such information is 
NOT stored only on your local computer
-If you or your department maintain servers, ensure they are up to date 
from an operating system AND application layer perspective
-If you suspect your computer is being attacked, shut down your computer 
immediately and contact your IT support

*Additional help, resources, and updates:*

-York’s Information Security blog: _http://infosec.news.yorku.ca/_
-Information Security Twitter (@YorkU_Infosec) and Facebook page 
(Yorku.Infosec)
-York’s Computing website: http://computing.yorku.ca/

Please direct any questions or concerns to UIT Client Services -
email: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> or visit 
_http://ithelp.yorku.ca_

UIT Announce