Dear <<Students>>,

In February of this year, we sent out a communication message concerning a data breach of the cems.org database. This message accompanied an automatic reset of your password in the database. 

We have received confirmation that the information obtained from the data breach has been used to send spam emails. A number of people have mentioned that they received a version of the email which includes a real password they've used in the past. Example: https://www.techlicious.com/blog/is-the-porn-blackmail-scam-real/comments-/CP2/ 

What you should do now: 

• If you or anyone you know has received suspicious emails, please do not open any attachments, click on any links or provide any personal data or payments. 
• Please ensure not to use that old password in any of your CEMS or other accounts. 
• You should also report these suspicious emails as spam in your mailing tool. 
• Finally, as a gentle reminder, please ensure to regularly change your CEMS password as a security measure. 
• We strongly recommend a password manager like Dashlane or 1Password, which will automatically check your passwords to see if they have been revealed in a breach and help you create unique, secure ones for every site.

Here are some password creation tips: 

• Your new password should be a minimum of 8 characters, which should contain at least 1 uppercase letter, 1 number, 1 symbol/special character, 1 lowercase letter 
• Do not use your old password 
• Do not use your name or something easily associated with you 
• Do not use your CEMS password with other accounts 

We regret any inconvenience this has caused. If you have questions, you can reach out to us at postmaster@cems.org. 

Sincerely, 

Pascal Vuylsteker - CEMS Information Systems Manager