Notations On Our World (Special Qquarter-End Edition): On this #Easter2018 & #Passover

As the Quarter draws to a close, we wanted to end the Quarter with two critical guidance from the team @US-CERT on what to watch for.  This is As it is Tax Season and it is also Easter Week-End.     

 Happy Passover and Happy Easter

National Cyber Awareness System:

Tax Guidance as Deadline Approaches

03/30/2018 08:34 PM EDT

Original release date: March 30, 2018As this year's April 17 tax deadline approaches, NCCIC/US-CERT offers taxpayers guidance to help protect their personal, financial, and tax information. Hackers can take advantage of taxpayers by using social engineering scams to attempt to steal personally identifiable information. NCCIC encourages taxpayers to review the following resources and recommendations:

• Avoid tax scams. Look for the telltale signs of tax scams:
  • emails that appear to come from your tax professional, requesting information for an IRS form
  • emails containing links to a supposed IRS website
  • bogus questionnaires claiming to be from the IRS or law enforcement agencies
  • calls where scammers leave urgent callback requests
• Safeguard personal data.
• Use strong passwords.
• Keep software updated.

If you believe you have been a victim of an IRS-related phishing attempt, visit the IRS’s page at https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing to report suspicious IRS-related communications.

Easter Holiday Phishing Scams and Malware Campaigns

03/30/2018 08:51 PM EDT

Original release date: March 30, 2018As the Easter holiday approaches, NCCIC/US-CERT reminds users to be aware of potential holiday scams and cyber campaigns, which may include

• emails and ecards from unknown senders that may contain malicious links,
• fake advertisements or shipping notifications with attachments infected with malware, and
• spoofed email messages and phony posts on social networking sites requesting support for fraudulent causes.

NCCIC encourages users and administrators to be cautious of unsolicited messages and to review NCCIC Tips on Using Caution with Email Attachments and Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks.