On April 11, several ITS staff participated in the annual Employee Wellness Fair. Amy Gordon, Chris Koch, and Hannah Tatu from the User Services Group (USG) provided over 130 participants an evaluation of the strength of their password. One password put through this evaluation potentially could be compromised in 12 seconds, while the most secure password evaluated could be compromised after 117 quintillion years! Longer passwords make for stronger passwords. Visitors saw with the addition of a single, common word like “spring” appended to the end of their existing password, it became nearly impossible to breach, adding millions of years to the time it would take to crack their password. Give your password a try at howsecureismypassword.net and then try the same with an additional five letter word.
As part of password testing, ITS also offered a “Spot the Phish” contest. Learning to identify phishing messages is a necessary skill in the workplace as a compromised account, depending one’s role at the College, could provide unintended access to sensitive College data. USG shared past examples of phish messages that tricked some email recipients into giving up their account information. All those who had their password tested were entered into a drawing for a $20 Wawa gift card, which was awarded to Rocco Vonelli in Mechanical Trades.
Ken Newquist from Web Development and Greta Bergstresser from Instructional Technology staffed the Accessible Design table along with members from the ATTIC (Academic Tutoring and Training Information Center) and the Communications Division. The group illustrated the importance of accessible web design particularly in relation to those with different forms of color blindness, and demonstrated adaptive tools such as the Livescribe pen.
Securing one’s online identity and creating accessible content may not seem like typical wellness fair topics, but knowing about both can help keep you safe and informed. Staying aware how secure your online identity is, can help you better protect your families’ data and private information, providing peace of mind. And, understanding there are different ways of learning is incredibly beneficial in dealing with colleagues and friends. ITS staff were pleased to be a part of this event to bring awareness to both security and accessibility.