In March, 105,000 phishing emails were sent to Radboud University. That means 3420 per day! Not surprising when you consider the growing group of professional and partly state-sponsored hackers. Add to that the fact that 21% of phishing attacks worldwide target research and education, you can see where these high numbers come from.
You used to be able to spot a phishing email quite easily, but with the help of artificial intelligence, this is becoming increasingly difficult. Texts are getting better, hackers use current events (such as the NATO summit, football events, etc.), pose as an IT department or assume the role of an executive or other colleague.
Do you receive a strange e-mail and wonder if it is phishing?
Contact the sender by other means. Never respond to a private e-mail address or a telephone number you cannot check.
Want to report phishing?
Use the ‘report button’ in Outlook or contact the ICT Helpdesk, 024 - 36 22 222. They can be reached 24 hours a day.
To give you some further reassurance. A total of 5.3 million emails reached Radboud University in March. Of these, 9% fell into the ‘unwanted emails’ category (spam, viruses and phishing). The bulk of these are stopped by Radboud University's spam filter.
Besides phishing, other forms of digital scams include QR fraud or fake websites. Read more Tips for working safely
* Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 en Elke seconde vinden er wereldwijd 19 cyberaanvallen plaats: Rusland is koploper volgens het Cyber Threat Report 2024 van Microsoft.
Questions about privacy: Contactofficer privacy
Questions about information security: Contact information security
Questions about working securly in general: IB-awareness [at] ru.nl (IB-awareness[at]ru[dot]nl)