Week 2 of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is here! Check out our available forums, Week 2 quiz, and our tip of the week to keep you cyber safe. 

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During last week’s Cybersecurity Awareness Open Forum, the Information Security team had a great discussion with BW team members, offering many practical insights for staying safe in digital spaces. Here’s a look into some of their suggestions and things to keep in mind. 

Device and Software Security

• Enable automatic updates on all software and devices to stay protected against known vulnerabilities. 
• Download software only from official vendor sites (e.g., adobe.com) to avoid malicious versions from search engine results.

Warning Signs of Identity Theft

• Unexpected charges or bank alerts indicating compromised financial accounts. 
• Receiving communications about actions you didn’t initiate (e.g., purchases, credit checks). 

Best Practices for Data Backup To Keep Your Information Safe

• Encrypt all physical backup media to protect sensitive information if devices are lost or stolen. 
• Avoid relying solely on USB drives or local disks, which are vulnerable to damage or theft.

Stay Alert: Protect Yourself From Deepfake Scams

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), criminals are using deepfakes—AI-generated or manipulated media—to scam people. These deepfakes include everything from altered images to fake videos to audio messages that sound exactly like trusted sources, such as public figures or even the targeted individual’s own friends or family.

The Best Way To Detect a Deepfake

Look for inconsistencies:

• Are any facial features blurry or distorted?
• Does the person blink too much? Not blink enough?
• Does the person’s hair or teeth look real?
• Does the video sync with the audio?
• Is the voice tone or cadence unnatural?
• Are the shadows or lighting of the photo or video natural-looking, or does the lighting seem odd? 

Red Flags of a Deepfake Scam

Watch out for:

Emotional manipulation involving fear or urgency.

Unexpected requests for money, passwords, personal information or secrecy.

Uncharacteristic communication from someone you know, especially over text, phone or video. 

Tips To Stay Safe

Since 2020, the FBI has received 4.2 million-plus reports of fraud. That’s $50.5 billion in losses. Familiarize yourself with these steps to stay safe. 

• Stop and think: Is someone trying to scare you or pressure you into sending money or sharing personal information?
• Verify the legitimacy of people and requests using trusted numbers, official websites or reverse image/video search tools.
• Work with your loved ones to create codewords or phrases so that you’ll be able to confirm identities.
• Limit your digital footprint! Photos, voice clips and videos can be used to train deepfake models.
• Never repost videos or images without verifying the source.

Report Scam

If the suspected deepfake happens on your BW PC or indicates it's been sent from a BW colleague or leader, report it to your service desk. If the suspected deepfake is on your personal device and has no ties to BW, report it to the FBI at IC3.gov or to your local police. 

Never send money if you have any questions about what you are seeing! But if you have sent money to a suspected deep fake, contact your bank right away. 

Source: ABA Foundation and FBI release New Infographic to help Americans spot and avoid deepfake scams. ABA Foundation and FBI Release New Infographic to Help Americans Spot and Avoid Deepfake Scams | American Bankers Association. (n.d.). https://www.aba.com/about-us/press-room/press-releases/aba-foundation-and-fbi-joint-infographic-on-deepfake-scams  

Test Your Cybersecurity Knowledge: The Week 2 Challenge is Here!

But first, the Week 2 winners!

Thanks for participating in the Week 2 Cybersecurity Awareness Challenge!  

• 178 of you submitted the quiz this week. 
• Close to 45% of you (80 total) achieved a perfect score!
• Congratulations to this week’s top performers — click here for the leaderboard.

U.S. team members: We have a winner! We drew a name from all U.S. team members who got 15 answers correct. The winner of this week’s $50 BW merchandise card is James Van Ert, Design Group Controls Engineer II, based in Minnesota. A member of the IT Communications and Strategic Support team will be in touch with details.   

Remember, U.S. team members, every time you participate is an additional chance to win in the final drawing on October 29— you don’t have to make the leaderboard to be in the final drawing! So keep submitting the quiz each week!  

Quiz Challenge Details: 

• Quiz Challenge Week 3 launches today! Find the link below. 
• Take the quiz by Tuesday, October 21, by 8 a.m. CDT.      
• One entry per team member. 
• This quiz is not anonymous. Your name will be recorded upon submission.       
• Winners will be posted in our weekly newsletter throughout October. 
• U.S.-based team members only:  Each week, a prize will be provided to the U.S.-based team member who successfully submitted the most correct answers before the Tuesday, 8 a.m. CDT deadline. Ties will be settled through a drawing from the names of everyone who successfully submitted the same number of the most correct answers before the Tuesday, 8 a.m. CDT deadline. 
  • One more way for U.S.-based team members to win a prize: On October 29, we will randomly draw a name from everyone who completed/submitted a quiz or quizzes throughout the four quiz challenges. Each quiz counts as one entry in the October 29 drawing. 

Ready to crush the CSAM challenge for Week 3? 

Once you launch the quiz, the timer begins. Select the best answer to each question. The quiz will close at the end of 8 minutes, whether you finished or not, and you cannot relaunch it. So, don’t launch the quiz until you are ready to commit the full 8 minutes to completing it.