Keeping your work and data safe online

This module is to offer some guidance about keeping your own and the University's information secure and shared appropriately. As a members of the University of Wolverhampton, we are all responsible for our own IT use, as well as helping the University keep its data and systems safe.

Lets start with the first line of defence against cybercrime - your password.

Your University Password

Your University password is critical to keeping your personal and University information safe, so please make sure it is at least 12 characters, includes upper and lower case characters, numbers between 0 – 9 and/or non-alphabetical characters (eg. ! $ # % @ +). The National Cyber Security Centre's advice is to choose three random words (including numbers and symbols) in your password, that you can remember but that no-one else can guess.

You are responsible for keeping your password safe, and must not share it with anyone. 

SPAM and Phishing messages

Phishing is getting cleverer, more realistic and more frequent. It is a big business. Spam and email filters do some of the work but will never be fully effective, so it’s up to each of us to read the context of messages and look for anything suspicious. 

Phishing can appear in many formats: email, text, Teams chat, WhatsApp, QR codes...

Key items to look out for are:

  1. The senders address. Check the senders address, not just their name. Fake email addresses can appear real until you look closely.
  2. The links. Hover over any links included into the message to check they are what you are expecting to see and are genuine.
  3. The grammar used. Fake or Phishing messages can often contain spelling mistakes, or unusual grammar.
  4. Urgency. Using tight deadlines to create a sense of urgency that distracts you from the rest of the message and pressures you into acting quickly.
  5. Authority. Pretending to be from a colleague or reliable company, to convince you that the message comes from a trustworthy source. Check the sending address carefully.
  6. Imitation. Exploiting 'normal' business communications, processes and daily habits to trick you into reacting to a message. Check who the email is addressed to, if it's 'friend' or 'valued customer', then this might be because the sender doesn't know you.
  7. Follow your instincts, if it feels dodgy, it probably is!

All staff and student Microsoft 365 accounts are continually monitored for suspicious activity. If an account is suspected of being compromised it is immediately disabled and the IT Service Desk will contact the owner of the account.

Keep your own devices up-to-date with security updates and protected with a PIN or fingerprint
Keep your devices and applications up-to-date and protected

It is really important that you keep your own mobile devices (laptop, phone) up-to-date with the latest operating system software and security updates. 

  • Protect your mobile: Make sure your mobile is securely protected by either a PIN, password or fingerprint scan.
  • Security updates: Keep your phones, laptops and tablets up-to-date with the latest software and security. Think about the amount of information your phone contains and what might happen if it got lost of stolen.
IT Acceptable Use Policy

We have a comprehensive IT Acceptable Use Policy that is a useful guide about your own responsibilities when using the University's digital services and systems. 

Reporting an Information Security Incident

The IT Support team are here to help you if you have any concerns about clicking on something in an email or help with updating your phone security. You can contact us using the IT Support portal or calling us on 01902 322000

Module completed

Move onto how to get help