Geopolitical instability may lead to targeted disruptive cyberattacks

While Denison University ITS has not observed any foreign threat actors attempting to carry out cyberattacks against the University or its infrastructure, we are acutely aware that the current geopolitical situation and instability in the Middle East may have rippling effects on domestic infrastructure.

After the US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, including cyberattacks carried out by Israeli government actors, Denison ITS is on alert to signs of retaliation and is ready to respond to threats that the University may face. Denison ITS is also monitoring attacks on global infrastructure to ensure that services and service providers are resilient to disruption, such as the AWS outage in the United Arab Emirates. We suspect that an increase in phishing and spear phishing may occur as Iranian government threat actors and sympathizers attempt to retaliate.

Cyberattacks that strike the University may try to disrupt normal operations through denial-of-service (DOS) attacks or strategic dis-/mis-information campaigns. We urge the University community to remain vigilant for out-of-the-normal messages and watch for suspicious activity on personal, school, and work accounts.