Gone fishing or gone phishing?
Extract from Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
Reader 1: ‘Paul, do you think fish get thirsty?’
Reader 2: ‘No, Bob, they live in water.’
Reader 1: ‘But what if they want a different drink? Like a fishy cocktail
Reader 2: Bob, I think you’ve been out in the sun too long.
Reader 3: As we cast our lines into the still waters, Paul began to recount a story from his childhood. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a golden glow over the lake. We sat in comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds being the gentle lapping of the water and the occasional bird call.
It was in these quiet moments that we found a deep sense of peace and connection, both with nature and with each other.
That extract comes from one of my favourite TV programmes, Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing. If you are looking for a complicated plot, action and thrills, or perhaps in this, the week of Valentine’s Day, romance, this is not the show for you. Rather, Gone Fishing features comedians Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse – as per the extract we have just heard - reflecting on life, while fishing across the UK. Each episode offers a relaxing, innocent blend of humour, friendship, and beautiful scenery. Not much happens in the programme, except for the odd bit of daft conversation, not many fish are caught and if they are, they are loving returned to the water, but what does come across is the kind, relaxed and authentic relationship between the two characters.
Someone once said that folk go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not the fish they are after. In other words, as with many pastimes, it is the company or the different setting or the peace that is what’s really valuable – arguably more valuable than the activity itself
I want to change to talk about something completely different now, given that tomorrow is Safer Internet Day and that different something is phishing – with a ph not an f
Like stealthy anglers on the riverbank, the School's Online safety team, of Mrs Boonnak, Mrs Holden, and NS Optimum launched a phishing attack recently here. Pupils were given advanced warning and trained on what they should look out for. They were also reassured that their data would not actually be stolen.
• The attack began two weeks ago, starting with an email from noreply@prizegiveaway.net informing recipients that there was a problem with their gmail account. It was predicted that 20% of recipients would be compromised. 55 pupils successfully recognised this email as phishing and reported it. Unfortunately, 10 pupils clicked on the link, and entered their email and password and therefore could have lost all sorts of sensitive information.
• The next day, an email from services@sharesbyte.com was sent, offering ICT services. 54 pupils reported this one, but 13 were compromised, and one of these was just 31 seconds after the email was delivered.
• A couple of days later, an email from admin2@templatein.com was sent informing readers that their Netflix account had been suspended and asking for billing information and payment method. 82 users reported it, but one person was compromised.
• Just over a week ago, a trickier phishing message was sent from noreply@docstoreinternal.net saying that Outlook messages had been placed on hold. 52 successfully reported this, but 14 were compromised.
• Although there was a sense that pupils were now getting wise to the attack, a week ago they received an email saying that some of their messages had been quarantined. No pupils were compromised, which is excellent.
• However, later the same day, pupils received an email saying that they had a recorded message from Patrick Steward. The word 'recorded' was spelt with two 'o's. 70 pupils reported this but 4 were compromised.
• Last Tuesday, an email was sent from support@attemplate.com, apologising for all the phishing emails and asking sixth formers to click on a link to download the new spam detector. One person fell for this within 7 minutes. If you were caught out, remember that individuals and organisations who want to steal our data are sophisticated and skilled at tricking us. Those who were caught have been sent a short piece of training to help them get better at spotting malicious emails. If that applies, please complete it to make yourselves safer. If you were one of the pupils who reported, very well done. But... there may be further tests so do please stay vigilant.
The birth of the internet is often considered to be one of the most transformative changes in human history. Access to the online world began to grow rapidly when the World Wide Web was invented by Tim Berners Lee in 1989. Then, it is thought that a few thousand people were connected online; now it is more like 5.6 billion – and amongst those, some will try to cause us harm.
Be cautious of suspicious emails, check they are from where they claim, avoid clicking unknown links, and use strong passwords…and if in doubt, seek advice. And remember, that whilst time spent online can be very productive, balance it with other activities and particularly time spent in the physical presence of real people.