Due to an increase in socially engineered attacks, students, faculty, and staff will need to visit the ITS Helpdesk in person or participate in a video call in order to reset their password. This important policy update helps ensure your personal information is secure.
Why We’re Making This Change
Colleges and universities like Carleton are prime targets for cyberattacks because they maintain a wide variety of personal and sensitive information, such as student health records, financial information and lab research data. Increasingly, criminals are using social engineering attacks to trick people into revealing passwords or personal information. ITS has already prevented multiple attempts to impersonate Carleton faculty members this year.
In response, the ITS Helpdesk is updating how we verify your identity when you need assistance with your password or other sensitive account information.
What to Expect
If you need to work with the ITS Helpdesk to resolve an issue related to your password or other sensitive information, you can expect the following:
- For Students: Visit the ITS Helpdesk in person and bring your Carleton OneCard.
- Exception: The only exception to this policy is when students are off-campus (e.g., studying abroad, on leave) or in isolation for medical reasons. In these cases, we can verify your ID with a video call.
- Faculty and staff: Verify your identity by either visiting the ITS Helpdesk in person or participating in a video call.
We appreciate your ongoing support as we work to protect our community and our campus from ever-changing cyber threats.
If you have questions about these changes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Adit Burkule or Kendall George.
Learn More about Social Engineering
Watch Rachel Tobac explain social engineering and why people like you can be our best line of defense against cyberattacks.
Read about the casino hack that cost MGM $100 million and began with a password reset quest.
Suspicious activity on your device? Let us know!
If you notice suspicious calls, emails, or other activity, call the Helpdesk (507-222-5999) and let us know right away. Our summer hours are Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Problem after hours? Don’t wait! You can call security services 24/7 at 507-222-4444.