What is meant by an “attack” in computer terminology?
Internet connected computers have bugs and features that can be exploited by remote computers. Lately, viruses begin infecting vulnerable computers on the internet and then attempt to infect other computers. In other cases this means someone impersonating you electronically or depriving others from access (a “denial of service” attack). Denial of service attacks are the electronic equivalent of vandalism. Impersonation is usually achieved by electronic eavesdropping or installing a program on your computer designed to capture your credentials (passwords, access codes, etc.). Why do we require periodic password changes? This is a practical example of what we can do to protect the integrity of our systems. While some users say that they have nothing in their account or email, they may not realize that a perpetrator can use their account as a lever to gain unauthorized access to other UO systems and Internet connected systems. We have a collective responsibility to help protect our system
