Category: News

Reflecting on a Year of AchievementUSC’s Information Technology Services (ITS) is proud to share the 2024 Year in Review, a publication highlighting the past year’s accomplishments while setting the stage for what’s ahead. This year’s edition reflects how our ongoing efforts align with the ITS Strategic Plan, connecting meaningful progress to long-term goals. Key Milestones…Continue Reading Celebrating Progress: The ITS 2024 Year in Review

Scammers are sending fake texts, emails, and even phone calls claiming you owe unpaid tolls and threatening to suspend your vehicle if you don’t pay immediately. The goal? To create panic and urgency so you’ll act without thinking—clicking a malicious link or giving up personal and financial information. The tactics are the same: These scams often claim: They use urgent language like:“Final…Continue Reading Phishing Alert: Fake Unpaid Tolls Scams

🚨 Do you use a third-party to send emails? If so, take action NOW!🚨  USC is implementing stronger email authentication (DMARC) protocols to protect our community from email-based threats. These changes will help ensure that only authorized email systems can send emails on behalf of USC. All accounts sending email on behalf of USC using third-party…Continue Reading Reminder: DMARC Email Protocols to be Implemented May 21

Before heading out for the summer, take two minutes to add a secondary email address to your account profile. This simple step can help speed up the NetID password reset process if you get locked out, getting you back into your USC accounts and resources faster. Adding a secondary email takes just a couple of…Continue Reading Add a Secondary Email to Speed Up NetID Recovery

The ITS Colocation Data Center team at USC has officially achieved SOC 2 certification, marking a major milestone in the university’s commitment to data security, operational excellence, and industry best practices. SOC, which stands for System and Organization Controls, is a framework developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to evaluate an…Continue Reading USC’s Colocation Data Center Achieves SOC 2 Certification, Reinforcing Security and Trust

Starting April 22, USC is rolling out User Digest, a daily email summary that helps you stay on top of quarantined messages flagged as risky. If you have no quarantined emails, you won’t receive a digest that day, keeping your inbox clear and focused. With User Digest, you can: Digest emails will come from spamdigest@usc.edu…Continue Reading User Digest Arrives April 22

Published April 16, 2025 Recently, Salesforce reported a new scam in which attackers call people directly, pretending to be IT support. Their goal? To trick you into installing what looks like a helpful app, often claiming to be something like the “Salesforce Data Loader,” but is actually malicious software that gives them access to your…Continue Reading Beware of Voice Phishing Targeting Salesforce Users

Published April 16, 2025 Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) has seen a recent uptick in attackers spreading Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) using legitimate websites that have been compromised. These attacks often begin with normal-looking emails, and they’re convincing. These emails often come from trusted sources but link to websites that have been silently compromised. The site might even look exactly as…Continue Reading Unwanted Programs Spread Through Compromised Websites

Since early April 2025, attackers have been hijacking real websites — often ones built with WordPress — and tricking visitors with convincing fake pop-ups. These pop-ups look like normal security checks or browser updates, but are actually lures to install malware on your device. The campaign, known as ClearFake, continues to evolve. The latest version…Continue Reading ClickFix Scam: Fake Browser Prompts on Real Websites