You may have read that public schools in Springfield and Everett have been closed since Tuesday as the result of significant cyberattacks. This is a reminder to all of us that we need to remain vigilant in protecting our systems – especially at this time. Threat actors target schools during opening days knowing that we are distracted by the excitement and chaos around the start of a new school year.
Please be aware that one new feature of our security defenses is monitoring logins from locations that don’t make sense. If you are here on campus, you can’t simultaneously be logged in from London! Off-campus logins are a strong indication that your account credentials have been compromised or shared. If our systems spot this type of remote connection, your account will be locked and you will be notified. To avoid this, students should remember that VPN use on the Deerfield network is prohibited. If you use a VPN on campus, you will likely trip the traffic monitors, and your account will be locked. And everyone should remember you should never share your username and password with anyone – not your parents, a tutor, or a proctee. Sharing credentials causes vulnerabilities in our systems and is a violation of our Student and Employee handbooks.
Remember – it is up to each of us to keep our systems safe. If you have any questions or spot any suspicious activity, please notify the ITS Help Desk (helpdesk@deerfield.edu) or DA Phishing Hotline (phishing@deerfield.edu).
Thank you!