The McMaster IT Security team is advising community members to be on the lookout for a malicious email message that has been circulating both at McMaster and externally. The email is an extortion attempt which includes a password that is familiar to the recipient.

The message threatens to disclose potentially embarrassing information unless the recipient sends Bitcoin within the next two days. Fortunately, the threat is empty. The senders have not installed malware on your computer, and they do not have a compromising video of you. There is no need to pay their ransom. 

For additional information and resources on how to protect yourself online, please visit the McMaster IT Security webpage.