Re: jfw and governmentjobs.com
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Mike B. <mike9902@...>
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
Hi Jed,
Here's something that might have to do with what's happening
with government websites
From the Malwarebytes newsletter
Government shutdown impacts .gov websites, puts Americans in danger -
Malwarebytes Labs | Malwarebytes Labs
Security certificates
We aren’t going to
dig deep into how security certificates work for websites, but the gist is that every vendor or organization that uses a website requires a security certificate for users to access their site with trust. Today, a few browsers, like Chrome, require these certificates before they even let users access the websites. You can recognize when a website uses a valid security certificate, usually indicated by a green lock on the URL bar. The certificate confirms that the identity of the website that you are
communicating with is legitimate. In addition, these certificates make it
possible
for users to establish a secure connection with the web server hosting the site, which is incredibly important when sending financial or personal information over the Internet. Since some of the most popular browsers won’t even let users visit a
website if it doesn’t have a valid certificate, we now have a lot of users who
can’t
access government websites because the certificates have expired. Why did they expire?
If a security certificate lasted forever, what would be the assurance that
it hasn’t been stolen by criminals who could then use it on their own
malicious
websites? Because of this, the organization that owns the website must purchase and deploy a new certificate each year. Think of it as a yearly registration fee, not unlike renewing your car tags. The reason these certificates were allowed to lapse is because no one’s at
work renewing them. Apparently, most US government websites maintain their
own
certificates. This is why not all US .gov websites are down—just a few of them (at least for now). With the partial shutdown, the people in charge of making sure citizens can access their websites by keeping these certificates up-to-date are unable to do their jobs, which eventually leads to users being unable to access these sites at all. What’s the problem?
Obviously, not being able to access some government websites is a pain, but
is it dangerous? The answer is: yes, because you can bet that
cybercriminals
are going to take advantage of the situation. That is why we want to share some vital warnings about how this shutdown
may help cybercriminals. Please, share this with everyone you know, at
least until
the shutdown is over. Cybercriminals frequently use real-world events to trick users into
clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You can look back at a couple of
instances
where events in Syria directly influenced the actions of cybercriminals, be it state sponsored or otherwise. In another case, the Boston bombing was used to try and scam people. From terrorist attacks to natural disasters, threat actors jump on the chance to exploit episodes of fear and uncertainty. 01/YoutubeSS-1024x539
Fake YouTube page set up to infect Syrian rebels
You can expect that users who are looking for government websites,
especially if they offer a service or require personal information or a login to
access,
are going to find copies of these sites presented as an alternative to access the same website. 01/Fake-ICA-website
Fake Singapore government website. Photo credit: Gov.SG
Users who rely on social services—typically older folks, veterans, or the
disabled—will be looking for a way to access the government sites they
frequent.
When they search for the site, their first link might take them to a dead end, since the security certificate has expired. However, the second or third link might work and take the user to a page that looks exactly like where they want to go. Classic phishing attack.
What to do about it
The best thing to do right now is share this information with those closest
to you so they don’t make a mistake and give away valuable personal info
just
because the government has issues keeping itself open. Also, be vigilant moving forward, not just in this case but anytime there is sensational news. Don’t just accept what the Internet tells you. Investigate. Think twice. And please, please, when in doubt, do not submit your personal information online. The bad guys know human behavior, and they know that people can’t help
clicking on links that are either convenient or scandalous and sensational.
Prove
them wrong. Stay safe out there!
Take care. Go Rams! Sent from my iBarstool. The probability of someone watching you is proportional to the stupidity of your action.
----- Original Message -----
From: Jed Barton
To: main
Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2019 3:29 PM
Subject: jfw and governmentjobs.com OK, so something must be going on with the government jobs.com website. I am trying to fill out an app. So most of it i can fill out. However, in the work experience section, it wants you to select the country where you worked. So i'm trying to select the US from the dropdown. Jaws isn't happy with the dropdown. It tells me press up and down arrow to navigate. I press the down arrow, and it crawls through the page, where i have to select from over 200 countries. So i hit U for US, and it doesn't go there. Any ideas on what to do? I tried pressing shift down arrow, and it said list box, then nothing. I have to get this application filled out. Any ideas? Thanks, Jed
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