Globe’s Point: Something needs to be done about cybersecurity

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We don’t know if anyone has noticed, but Point Park has recently received a barrage of phishing emails. That’s a joke, because obviously everyone has been receiving them and is well aware. The sheer volume of these e-mails is completely ridiculous.

What’s worse is the lack of communication from the university on these emails. The emails are coming from accounts associated with the school, which means that at least a handful of Point Park accounts have been compromised. While the IT Department has issued a notice about the phishing emails and urged students to change and strengthen passwords, the university has yet to let anyone know the true volume of compromised accounts.

We’re living in an era where cybersecurity is of utmost importance. The recent Facebook whistleblower has shined a whole new light on how data can be used to manipulate and technology can be used against people.

What’s especially frustrating about these emails is how they are obviously scams and are incredibly repetitive. It’s surprising that our university does not have better precautions in place to catch things like this, especially considering how primitive these phishing emails are. If the university is unable to combat simple and obvious problems, what happens if there’s a larger breach of security?

The university has many people’s financial information on file, as well as plenty of other personal information. If sensitive information were to become compromised, what does the university intend to do? They haven’t exactly been forthcoming with information on prior cybersecurity incidents, so how can we, as a student body, expect them to be transparent in the event of some mass cybersecurity incident?

The university must better address these phishing emails, and figure out some sort of more effective way to combat things like this. In the meantime, we as a student body must remain diligent with our personal data online. Oh, and here’s a tip—don’t click the link.