Technology Tips: May 2025 Edition

#Tips

Skyward IT Services

by Skyward IT Services

Skyward IT Services Network Infrastructure and Security Specialists

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Scamwatch Summer 2025

Colleagues and cousins getting a little sick of your security tips?

Luckily, the American Bankers Association and Bank of America are also hip to the hacker games. They’ve put together a resource for speaking with loved ones of all ages and a link to a phishing/smishing quiz to test your security spidey senses.

Visit the Bank of America security center.

Note: When in doubt, go right to the American Bankers Association for the quiz.

Juice jacking ft. O.MG cable

We’ve covered “juice jacking” (when bad actors plant malicious software via public charging stations), but now for the low, low price of a couple Benjamins any kid can become a baby hacker with the O.MG cable.

Marketed as a tool to help orgs test their security, the cable comes custom-built with all kinds of hacky doohickeys—think keylogger, stealth features, WiFi control, even self-destruct to wipe the cable after using it.

Not only is the cable an interesting lesson for IT pros, but it’s another threat in the Wild West of K12 information security. (Hey, if they’re lighting Chromebooks ablaze, where’s the limit?)

Fake jobs or sales from phony LinkedIn recruiters

‘Tis the season for job hunting and hopping, and hackers know it.

If that new position sounds just too good to be true, it probably is. But did you know that cool sales guy who reached out might just be a fake profile, too?

Tips for spotting fake profiles include:

AI headshots: look for missing or extra features and jewelry, over-airbrushed complexions, and lots of smoothness instead of our natural angles and wrinkles
A strangely generic job history and profile
Asking for any personal information
Receiving the same message from different profiles, copied and pasted

Malware of the month: Fake CAPTCHA captures students' machines

Pro tip for students and staff: Verification shouldn’t require running script commands. 🚩

Unfortunately, thanks to a combo of recognizable visual design and some smooth step-by-step instructions, bad actors conned a bunch of students into a “ClickFix” attack. Here’s how it works:

Hack a popular student response clicker site to display a fake CAPTCHA
Embed malicious scripts in the CAPTCHA
Add a bogus set of “verification steps” that were really steps to run the malware on the machine

You can read all the gory details and learn how to protect your students from similar threats at BleepingComputer.