We have recently communicated about an emerging threat to all UIW employees, being targeted by SMS Phishing campaigns. These campaigns are troubling because the bad actors know enough context, such as leader's names or current activities, and make plausible requests. Adding to the challenge is that until recently, our cell phones were a sort of "safe space" free from the challenge and struggle of spam emails. This dynamic is rapidly changing, and all employees should take extra caution from now on.
The UIW IT team has diligently looked across the internet and dark web to identify any bulk compromises of UIW personal cellphones, and at this time, there are NONE. That said, in 2023 alone, we are aware of large-scale data compromises with T-Mobile, MoveIt, Yum Brands, Chik-Fil-A, Activision Games, and recently data from 500 Million LinkedIn accounts was compromised and made available online. In an ever more fraught and challenging cybersecurity environment, your cellphone number may already be in the hands of bad guys or even just annoying vendors. Just like with email, we encourage a high degree of diligence and skepticism when receiving unsolicited text messages from numbers you don't recognize that are making unusual requests (gift card purchases, for example).