Author: tgale@ufl.edu

Improving Technologies Make Impersonation Scams More Effective

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Most of us have received phishing emails in our inbox and smishing messages on our phones impersonating people or companies we trust. According to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers lost $1.1 billion to these types of social engineering scams in 2023. That is three times more than in 2020, with strong growth expected now that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can be used to make phishing communications more convincing. 

We have often been able to spot these impersonations by noticing non-standard language in sentences, grammatical errors, or messages that don’t seem to apply to the situation. But as AI tools improve, scammers can use them to rapidly create very convincing messages that lack the tell-tale signs we’ve become accustomed to spotting. It is even possible to use so called deepfake tools to create convincing audio and video of someone speaking – using only short clips of the real person speaking.  

Here are other clues to help identify impersonation scams:  

  • Verify the source. Check the email address the email was sent from, and if a suspicious email comes in to your GatorMail email, double-check whether the message is flagged in red as [External Email]. On your phone, smishing messages often appear to come from an email address rather than a phone number. 
  • Check with the sender. Impersonation scams often want to give you the impression that the real person being impersonated is not available, which is why they need you to quickly take some action for them. But it doesn’t hurt to give the real person a call or send a message to verify, because if they answer, it was probably a scam! Do not hit ‘reply’ or ‘redial.’ Instead, look up the person in your contacts or find a reliable contact for companies independently (such as calling the phone number on the back of your credit card if you get a text purportedly coming for your bank) 
  • It’s a good idea to agree on a way to authenticate communications with people ahead of time, such as by creating a ‘code word’ that family members can use if they are really in trouble.  

If you find yourself the recipient of an impersonation scam, you should report the fraud to the FTC. This helps federal investigators stop scammers before they can reach more people. 

For more information on impersonation scams, visit https://security.ufl.edu/learn-security/.

Student Perspectives on AI (Live Event)

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UF Information Technology’s (UFIT) Tech Byte series continues this spring with a unique, student panel event. Current undergraduates from diverse majors will talk about their use of AI in coursework, how AI is showing up in their lives, and about AI’s impact on their career path and plans for the future.  UFIT will livestream this moderated panel on Thursday, April 18, at 2:00 p.m.  If you’d like to submit specific questions to be asked of the student panel, email Associate Director of Academic Technology Ryan Yang.

Register now to watch and listen in to this innovative panel: https://ufl.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwqc-irqzkjH9OO23WdTpgkIrMOhW1vdvuc#/registration

For further details on this event or on UFIT’s Tech Byte series, visit: https://citt.ufl.edu/workshops/tech-bytes/

Improving Students’ Eduroam Experience: Marston Spring Tabling Dates

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To support the year-long educational communications initiative You’re a Gator – Not a [UF] Guest, UF Information Technology (UFIT) staff will connect with students directly through a series of campus tabling sessions. The first two tabling events are Friday, Apr. 5, and Monday, Apr. 8, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. inside Marston Science Library’s entryway. The goal of the You’re a Gator – Not a [UF] Guest initiative is to make students aware that enrolling their devices in eduroam provides the optimal campus Wi-Fi experience.

Network usage data determined that Marston Science Library is one of UF’s busiest campus spots, with thousands of students studying across the five floors daily. The data also revealed clusters of ‘ufguest’ network and personal hotspot usage among Marston’s heavy foot traffic. Personal mobile hotspots redirect the Wi-Fi signal in crowded campus areas. The ‘ufguest’ network should be used exclusively by campus visitors, because it doesn’t offer full internet access, is slower than eduroam, and is an unencrypted network.

Eduroam offers up to 10x’s faster connectivity than the ‘ufguest’ network and is the campus standard for secure network access . Also, by enrolling their devices in eduroam, campus members won’t have to re-configure every 24 hours as required on ‘ufguest’. Come see our team, get configured to eduroam, and grab a free sticker! If you miss us, don’t worry. You can always stop by the UFIT Help Desk at 132 Hub (across from Starbucks) or call 352-392-HELP for Wi-Fi configuration support.

Data Parallelism: How to Train Deep Learning Models on Multiple GPUs

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The NVIDIA AI Technology Center at the University of Florida is offering an instructor-led, deep learning institute workshop in April: Data Parallelism: How to Train Deep Learning Models on Multiple GPUs.

Workshop Dates: April 11-12, 2024 (Thursday and Friday), from 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Registration Link: https://forms.gle/KiNxdjqxJ7AZCZFk6

The workshop will be held over two days (four hours each day) in Malachowsky Hall’s NVIDIA Auditorium. Its focus is on techniques for data-parallel deep learning training on multiple GPUs to shorten the training time required for data-intensive applications. Working with deep learning tools, frameworks, and workflows to perform neural network training, attendees will learn how to decrease model training time by distributing data to multiple GPUs, while retaining the accuracy of training on a single GPU. The full course outline may be found on this NVIDIA website page.

The course is FREE and open to the university community, but pre-registration is required. Also required is experience with Python. Technologies used in the workshop are PyTorch, PyTorch Distributed Data Parallel, and NCCL.

If you have any questions about this workshop, please email the instructor, NVIDIA Data Scientist Yungchao Yang (yunchaoyang@ufl.edu).

 

Open: Summer 2024 Canvas Course Requests

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Faculty can now request Summer 2024 Canvas courses via ONE.UF using these instructions. Only instructors of record may use ONE.UF to request courses. Faculty or staff requesting on behalf of instructors will need to do so via myUFL.

If someone normally requests courses for you, please let them know you are handling your own course request. If you do not need a course in Canvas this summer, then follow the instructions above and find the “Exclude Section from Canvas” instructions.

Course auto-creation for all Summer 2024 courses begins Wednesday, May 8, at 12:00 p.m.  Courses not requested or marked as “Exclude Section from Canvas” by that date and time will automatically be created. Instructors who need sections combined into one shell are advised to make their course request before Wednesday, May 8. Any course section added to the Student Information System after auto-creation will still need to be requested.

As a reminder, instructors cannot use Canvas Announcements or Inbox to communicate with students prior to the start date of the course and the course being published. Instructors that want to communicate with students prior to the start of the Summer A/C 2024 semester (Monday, May 13), may use the Class Rolls feature in ONE.UF to do so. Full course rosters will not load into Canvas until after the auto-creation date.

The e-Learning Support team is offering one-on-one consultations to help prepare your course for the upcoming term. Please schedule an appointment at http://go.ufl.edu/CanvasHelp. The consultations will be conducted via Zoom. Please reach out to the e-Learning Support team with any questions:

Intern with UFIT!

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Applications for Summer 2024 internships are now live, with opportunities in wide-ranging IT fields: https://it.ufl.edu/internships/. UF Information Technology’s (UFIT) paid internships offer immersive on-the-job experience supporting a campus of 100,000+ stakeholders with cutting-edge technologies used by Fortune 500 companies. The internships are open to all students regardless of major or year. Prospective applicants can explore the catalog of internship opportunities offered across UFIT’s eight departments:

  • Academic Technology
  • Applications, Development, and Integrations
  • Customer Experience & Resource Planning
  • Data Platform and Analytics
  • Information Security Office
  • Infrastructure & Communications Technology
  • IT Business Center
  • Research Computing

Information systems junior Srinithi Reddy is interning in the Customer Experience & Resource Planning department, where she collaborates with the business relationship managers group to enhance UF’s enterprise IT experience.

“This opportunity has helped me hone my interpersonal communication skills, develop a better understanding of collaborating with a variety of specialized teams, and enhanced my proficiency with MS Visio by transforming complex data into visually engaging and informative charts and diagrams,” Reddy said.

John Wes Miller, a sophomore at American University, is a risk analyst intern for the Information Security Office. Miller said his tasks include classifying data and conducting security assessments of the university’s digital infrastructure.

“This internship can truly set you apart and lay the groundwork for a successful career in information security,” he said. “It has given me hands-on experience in cybersecurity and insights into the real-world challenges faced by organizations in securing their digital assets.”

Internship application deadlines may vary according to department. Have questions about the internship program? Contact UFIT at it-comm@ufl.edu.

On-The-Go Campus Printing with GatorPrint

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UF Information Technology (UFIT) offers black and white, color, and large format poster printing in more than 20 buildings across campus via the GatorPrint program. GatorPrint enables community members to send print jobs directly from their computer, mobile device, or a UF workstation to more than 50 campus printing locations, from on- or off-campus. Students can even send jobs while waiting for, or while riding on, an RTS bus!

Printing costs vary depending on the type of print job but are standard across UFIT’s campus print locations. Once your print job is completed, the charges are posted on your ONE.UF account. Faculty and staff can also arrange bulk printing credits for their department or college.

Check out the printing options, locations, costs, and policies at print.at.ufl.edu. Technology consultants are available to assist you with your print job at the Architecture Lab, Marston Science Library, CSE, Norman Hall, and at Weil Hall. Anyone with questions about campus printing options may call the UFIT Help Desk (352-392-HELP), or stop by the Help Desk at 132 Hub, located across from Starbucks.

Fresh, Accessible, and Flexible: UF’s New Web Templates

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UF Information Technology (UFIT) collaborated with the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing (SCM) to launch the new UF web theme in September 2023. The theme, known as Mercury, features modular and component-based templates, creating a modernized look aligned with UF’s branding strategy and accessibility policy. The components of each template are flexible, allowing users to easily adopt the theme.

This project began in June 2021 with UF partnering with the vendor Stamats. UFIT’s Web Services team serves as SCM’s technical support and worked with them on the web refresh efforts. The new template reflects three years of planning, cooperation, and building out the new look.

“Since the release of the Mercury theme, we’ve already seen several units successfully implement it,” SCM’s Director of Marketing and Web Strategy Ana Mertz said. “It is exciting to see so many units embrace the new templates. Our teams worked hard to ensure our campus community had as many resources as possible to facilitate adoption.”

While implementation of the templates is not required for campus units, it’s highly encouraged as the Mercury theme provides brand continuity and meets current accessibility standards.

“Based on the requests for meetings to discuss migrating into the new theme, I am optimistic that campus wide adoption is forthcoming,” UFIT Associate Director and Manager of Web Services Kimbley Standifer said.

Visit the UF Brand Center’s ‘Website Templates’ page to find information about the template, available platforms, and the required documentation to use them. If you have any questions, please fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page. UFIT also has additional resources about using the new template available on https://webservices.it.ufl.edu/mercury-theme/.

Slam the Scam, Gators!

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March 7, 2024, is national “Slam the Scam!” day. This annual federal outreach initiative was launched during the pandemic to call attention to phone, direct message (DM), text, and email crimes. These scams have intensified and become more sophisticated.  Here are some warning signs to be aware of to help you slam the scam:

You are contacted unexpectedly by phone, email, text, DM, or pop-up message with a request for personal information or money. These crimes are successful because scammers use convincing stories: there’s a problem with your account, there’s a hold on your classes, there’s an issue with a package delivery, or an emergency with a loved one. Scammers pretend to be someone important who needs help, or pose as an employee from a familiar organization. Scammers tell you it is urgent you take action and often create fake caller ID information. If you get asked for personal information or money, make sure you verify the person who has contacted you before acting on any request. If it is a legitimate request the person will not mind. And never click a link or download an attachment from someone or an organization you don’t know.

Scammers use emotional triggers, like love or fear, to trick you into taking action. You may be asked to send a wire transfer or to purchase pre-loaded debit cards or gift cards. Another popular (read: successful) scam is receiving a check that is for more than expected, with the scammer asking you to repay the overage via the code from a pre-paid gift card or by a bank transfer.

The scammer might ask for your GatorLink credentials, bank account number, UFID, or even your Social Security number. Scammers often direct you to a website that looks legit (but isn’t). They’ll ask you to enter your name and password using pop-up messages on your computer or your mobile device, with a request to allow a software program to run. Don’t do it! Sometimes scammers provide a callback number or say that you can trust Caller ID when you question them. Remember…When in doubt, don’t give that information out!

It has become commonplace to receive scam texts (“smishing“) and phishing emails. The best protection from scammers is to familiarize yourself with how scams work.  If you receive an email in your GatorMail that makes you suspicious, click on the Phish Alert Button in MS Outlook located on the top right of your email, or forward it to abuse@ufl.edu.

Free Training on Administrative and AI Applications

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UF Information Technology (UFIT) offers a robust training calendar that includes instructor-led opportunities and self-paced courses. All UFIT training is free and open to faculty, staff, and students. There are dozens of offerings this semester including the options listed below.

Enhance Your collaboration skills with these instructor-led webinars:

Earn UFIT’s AI Foundations certificate with this anytime, on-demand option:

AI Foundations Certificate Program: Learn different aspects of AI through a series of five courses: Artificial Intelligence in The Workplace, Harnessing AI Tools, AI Image Generators (Self-Paced), and Prompt Engineering: Working with ChatGPT and AI Image Generators.

Become proficient with survey tools for research and administrative use:

Register today and let’s learn together! UFIT can also deliver on-site, custom learning opportunities for a college, department, or unit that has a specific group training need. Email ufit-training@ufl.edu with your inquiry. The training staff are eager to help you more efficiently use campus IT tools and applications.