October was all about strengthening our cyber defenses and empowering Buckeyes to stay safe online. Ohio State tapped in to a series of events hosted by the the Big Ten Academic Alliance.
Tagged: Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2025: Building a Culture of Digital Safety
Beth Varcho|October 28, 2025In the News: Big Ten Academic Alliance shares ‘Scary Cyber Tales’
Administration and Planning Media Relations|October 28, 2025In a hair-raising presentation, information technology experts from the Big Ten Academic Alliance shared stories meant to illustrate the dangers of the digital world.Watch for New Email Warning Banners Starting Oct. 20
We’re making important updates to our email security system to better protect you and the university from phishing and spoofed messages.
Starting on Monday, Oct. 20, instructors, staff and students may notice a banner on incoming emails that fail our security check. These messages won’t be blocked yet, but they will be once the new security policy takes effect on Jan. 30.
Register Now: Scary Cyber Tales: Don’t Let Your Data Go Bump in the Night
Beth Varcho|October 13, 2025Attend "Scary Cyber Tales: Don’t Let Your Data Go Bump in the NightLearn" to learn about today’s most common threats—phishing, ransomware, malware, and social engineering—and pick up practical tips to keep your data safe. Join our cybersecurity experts for an hour of spooky tales and essential lessons to ensure your digital life doesn’t turn into a cyber nightmare!New Password Policy Enhances Security and Convenience
Beth Varcho|October 9, 2025As part of Cybersecurity Month, the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation (OTDI) is announcing changes to passwords that will reduce the burden on our users while strengthening our overall security. Beginning Oct. 9, Ohio State users will no longer be required to change their university password every 180 days – your next password change prompt will be your last.Attend Securing the Mission: Building Awareness and Resilience in Higher Ed on Oct. 9
Reg Jackson|October 7, 2025Seeing how our peers operate is a rare opportunity. While we all face similar cybersecurity challenges, we handle them in a variety of ways. Partnering with the Big Ten Academic Alliance for this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month offers one of those opportunities in a virtual setting.
Cybersecurity Days begin on Oct. 1
Beth Varcho|September 16, 2025This year Ohio State is collaborating with BTAA to celebrate October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. BTAA has scheduled four engaging and educational events. While some content is aimed at all users, some events are targeted to cybersecurity professionals. These events will help you develop awareness and guide you to take action against cybersecurity threats.Otter.ai and Your Privacy
Reg Jackson|August 22, 2025Otter.ai is an AI-powered meeting assistant that helps customers record, transcribe and summarize their meetings. The tool advertises itself as integrating seamlessly with platforms like Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams.
Beware of Salesforce Support Attacks
Reg Jackson|August 19, 2025Many folks around the university rely on Salesforce for customer engagement and promotions. A recent string of cyber attacks put Salesforce users at risks.
Attackers are using social engineering tactics like voice phishing to impersonate Salesforce support staff and trick them into accessing malicious links or adding harmful connected apps on Salesforce.
Help Wanted: Attackers need you to defeat MFA
Reg Jackson|July 30, 2025A growing trend in cybersecurity is to attack victims through texting and social channels, tricking them into giving access to their accounts, files, and data.
As a refresher, multifactor authentication is the highest standard for logging into accounts and services. Simply, it means it takes -- 1) something you know: username and password, and 2) something you have: your DUO push notification on your cell phone -- to access your Ohio State account.