All CWS-CARES OKTA Admins:
As a privileged user in the CWS-CARES system, it is our understanding that you may already be familiar with the risks associated with phishing – a tactic used by hackers to gain control of your computer and through this, potentially infiltrate and cause harm to systems you access. Phishing uses email to get a user to download and/or execute malicious programs. Phishing is very common in today’s world and users should be very vigilant and avoid opening and clicking through emails they did not solicit or do not trust.
It is highly recommended that you maintain a heightened level of awareness specifically in relation to the potential threat articulated above. When in doubt, do not hesitate to ask your County Information Technology (IT) office or reach out to servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov.
It is equally important that you maintain good IT “hygiene” in relation to your CWS-CARES credentials including, but not limited to, using appropriate tools such as a password manager, not using the same password for multiple accounts, setting a strong multi-factor authentication (MFA), using strong and complex passwords, not sharing your passwords with anyone, and other precautions to secure user access and credentials.
Action Required
If you have any general questions or concerns, or simply wish to discuss how best to keep your privileged account credentials used to access CWS-CARES more secure, please do not hesitate to reach out to servicedesk@cwds.ca.gov.
CWS-CARES: Phishing Awareness Reminder
If unable to find a specific Bulletin, please contact Communications.