MINOT, ND (KXNET) — Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to protecting yourself. One university was offering North Dakotans the chance to learn more about cybersecurity threats during this Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Minot State University employees and students were hosting a cybersecurity summit in the student center today. They wanted to put on an educational programming for the greater Minot area. "I'd say one of the biggest cybersecurity threats the average person will have today is called Phishing, with a 'ph,' and that is when someone is trying to exploit you by sending you an email that might contain an attachment or a link trying to pose as somebody else to gain access to your device," said Jaden Evanger, senior cybersecurity automation engineer, NDIT. People may think they know what to watch out for to protect themselves from some sort of spyware being installed on their device, but all it takes is a couple of clicks. Jacob Rued is the fraud investigator with First Western Bank and Trust. He says people want to think everyone in North Dakota is nice and every deal can be done with a handshake, but the internet stretches far beyond the Peace Garden State. "We are dealing with the Earth and every person on the Earth can access those things, which comes as no surprise to anyone," Rued said. "There are enemies of ours on this Earth that want to do us harm." SRT Tech Day winners named at Minot State University To protect yourself, your family and loved ones, he says it's imperative that you have open lines of communication. "A scammer's first objective in any scam is going to be to isolate you from the people that actually care about you and actually want to help you," said Rued. Rued says he sees a lot of North Dakotans being contacted by people claiming to work for companies like Microsoft or Apple. The imposter tells the potential victim that there's a virus on their computer, and that they need to give them remote access so they can remove it. "Microsoft and Apple to my knowledge don't do anything like that, and what happens is the scammer takes remote control of that computer, steals all the information on the computer and then will log in or access any accounts like a bank account that might be accessed on that computer," said Rued. It's important to learn how not to fall for what seems too good to be true. Rued says the best tip is to always be skeptical, and if something seems off, call your bank and verify. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW