M E M O R A N D U M
 
TO:                 NYSUT K-12 Local Presidents
FROM:          Catalina Fortino
DATE:           January 28, 2016
RE:                 Revised Dates for Grade 3-8 Test Writing
 
Based on our request SED’s new testing company, Questar, has revised the dates for the item writing workshops for the grade 3-8 state tests. They are still looking for teachers to work on developing the questions for the new grade 3-8 ELA and math tests. Participants will be paid for participation in the item writing workshop. The math workshop will be held on March 1-3 in Albany and the ELA workshop will be held on April 19-21 in Albany.
 
Please share this information with your Grade 3-8 teachers, special education teachers and ELL teachers. Names and contact information and grade level for participants should be sent to Terry McSweeney at tmcsween@nysutmail.org. Participants will be contacted by the testing company if they are selected to participate.
 
In Solidarity
Catalina

Every year BMUST honors one individual in each building as an “Outstanding Professional”. These colleagues are recognized for their professional excellence at our annual dinner in June.
 
The recipient of this award may include teachers, school counselors, psychologists, social workers, nurses and other members of our union.  We are asking for your input in the selection process.
 
Please nominate a colleague by February 10th, and also indicate the reason for your selection.  All nominations should be returned to your Head Building Representative.
 
Please be assured that all correspondence will remain confidential.
 
We thank you for your cooperation.
 

SED’s new testing company, Questar, is looking for grade 3-8 teachers to work on developing the questions for the new grade 3-8 ELA and math tests. Participants will be paid for participation in the item writing workshop. The math workshop will be held onFebruary 17-19 in Albany and the ELA workshop will be held on April 13-15 in Albany.
 
Please share this information with your Grade 3-8 teachers, special education teachers and ELL teachers. Names and contact information and grade level for participants should be sent to Terry McSweeney at tmcsween@nysutmail.org. Participants will be contacted by the testing company if they are selected to participate.
 
In Solidarity
Catalina

We were alerted to the email below. Please read carefully and share with your units. W2 Forms in our district will NOT be distributed electronically so any such email should be ignored.

Thank you.

Mara
NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES CYBER-THREAT ALERT
 
DATE ISSUED: January 23, 2016
                        January 25, 2016 UPDATED
 
SUBJECT: Active Email Phishing Threat
 
OVERVIEW:
The NYS ITS CSOC has been notified of an active phishing email threat targeting government agencies. We have received reports of a well-crafted phishing email circulating in the past two weeks at several US universities and in neighboring states.  The email notifies employees that their electronic W2s are available and encourages them to click to login and view/print their W2s.  The link takes them to a landing page which has been made to look like the organization’s Human Resources site.  Those who fall victim to the phishing email may have their personal information compromised, including login, password, tax information, bank account information, personal contact information and benefit information.
 
Two sample emails are provided below.  Please note that there are several variants. 
 
ORIGINAL INDICATORS OF COMPROMISE:

• “Click Here” redirects to a URL in the domain hxxp://www.kaizenkz.org
•  IP address resolution for the link currently resolves to 89.253.252.114

January 25, 2016 UPDATED INDICATORS OF COMPROMISE:
·         Email was sent from email domain email.ufrb.edu.br
·         IP address resolution for the email domain resolves to 200.128.85.35
·         The link in the email sent from the email domain redirects to a URL in the domainhxxp://xxx.flirtingvision.co.nz  (this domain is still active)
 RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Block indicators of compromise provided above and review logs for activity.  Note this task has been completed for ITS hosted agencies.
• DO NOT reply to email with any personal information or passwords. If you have reason to believe that the request is real, call the institution or company directly.
• DO NOT click a link in an unsolicited email message. If you have reason to believe the request is real, type the web address for the company or institution directly into your web browser.
• DO NOT use the same password for your work account, bank, Facebook, etc. In the event you do fall victim to a phishing attempt the thieves will try the compromised password in as many places as they can.
• DO change ALL of your passwords if you suspect any account you have access to may be compromised.
• DO be equally cautious when reading email on your phone. It may be easier to miss telltale signs of phishing attempts when reading the email on a smaller screen.
• If you have received this phishing email, do not open the message. Please forward it "as an attachment" to csoc@its.ny.gov and then and DELETE it from your Inbox.

 
If you have any questions or concerns please direct your inquiries to csoc@its.ny.gov  or by phone at 242-5211. 
 
Cyber Security Operations Center
NYS Enterprise Information Security Office
 
Office of Information Technology Services (ITS)
1220 Washington Avenue, Building 5 – 1st Floor
Albany, New York  12226
Main Phone: 518-242-5211 | csoc@its.ny.gov
Website: http://www.its.ny.gov/eiso

BMUST Colleagues,

Please be reminded that the PTA Founders' Day Dinner is Monday, March 7. There are still openings. Join us for an enjoyable evening of dining and awards. 

As a BMUST PTA Liaison, I am appealing to our membership to join your building PTA and SEPTA if you have not already joined.  As I stated in September, we are fortunate to have a great relationship with our local PTAs and PTA Council.  Mark and I regularly attend the council meetings and we see so many supportive parents who are on our side as it relates to APPR, state tests and Cuomo's agenda.  Please, if you haven't yet signed on, make every effort to join.  PTA membership is $15 and so is SEPTA.  

Any questions, see your building PTA rep or contact me.

Sincerely,
Rich Wilen
BMUST Treasurer and PTA Liaison

​Attached is the final letter to the governor which will be shared with Newsday later today.