Computer Chronicles
Version 11.1, September 2022
Highlights
As we close out September and look forward to Cybersecuity Month in October, I wanted to thank you for your continued vigilance in working with me to keep our district safe. Please continue to "Think before you click!" and keep forwarding me those suspicious emails. It really does help.
Breach Forums User Targets School Districts
On September 22, an English-speaking threat actor under the username “mud” on Breach Forums announced that they are creating “a project to leak every school district's student directory information” and are looking for current students to act as insiders and unpaid volunteers to help them collect data.
On September 23, the user “mud” leaked database information related to several school districts and opened for auction account login credentials related to one of the impacted districts.
Currently, no New Jersey school districts are impacted by this project; however, this is a developing threat and, based on the previous activity and experience of the user “mud,” the project is likely credible.
Please be sure your passwords are secure (i.e., not on a Post-it under your keyboard).
If you have any questions or concerns, let me know.
Smart tools for busy teachers
Did you know you have your very own Google Classroom data wizard right at your fingertips?
The Schoolytics platform connects to Google Classroom instantly, giving you information in just a few minutes about your gradebook that you can’t find on your own.
Schoolytics analyzes student engagement data with course content and summarizes grades, completion rates, and overall student performance.
Save yourself some time. 75% of teachers say that Schoolytics saves them time. For those teachers, they get back almost an hour per week.
See high-level metrics on assignment completion for students in all of your classes and track patterns in student engagement and performance over time.
Want to see it all in action? https://www.schoolytics.com/c/login and use the "Sign in with Google" button.
Preventing Cyberattacks with Google
- 9 out of 10 cyberattacks begin with a phishing link. Gmail phishing protections were built to block more than 100 million attempts a day.
- Gmail works hard to protect you from spam, phishing, and malware, before they reach your inbox. Their AI-enhanced spam-filtering capabilities block nearly 10 million spam emails every minute.
- Safe Browsing protects you by identifying dangerous links in email messages and warns you before you visit the site.
- Gmail warns you before you download an attachment that could put your security at risk.
- Google protects your account against suspicious logins and unauthorized activity by monitoring multiple security signals.
Pro Tech Tip
When you paste text from the web, you’ll usually copy its formatting information as well and end up inserting that into your Doc.
If that happens you can strip this formatting by selecting the copied text and going to Format>Clear Formatting in the menu bar.
Magni Momenti Notitia
- "Think before you click."
- Got a tech problem? Please submit a help desk ticket here. Be sure to use the Google button to login.
- When submitting a help desk ticket, be sure to include the Inventory Number on every request. It is a 6-digit number with a barcode on a B&W label under the title "South Amboy Board of Education". This will speed up your request.
- Visit the Information Technology page on the district website for the latest news.
- Now that September has ended, did anyone remember to wake up Green Day?
"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
- Theodore Roosevelt
Conceived, written and produced by
Michael Elson 💻
District Technology Coordinator
Join Technology Updates on Remind: https://www.remind.com/join/elson or text @elson to the number 81010
Email: melson@sapublicschools.com
Website: http://www.sapublicschools.com/departments/information_technology
Location: 32 08’59.96″ N, 110 50’09.03″W
Phone: 732.387.3559
Twitter: @sapublicschool1