FW: [SECURITY] Colleges and Universities Recognize Cyber Security Day with Campus Events

[Howell, Paul]

-----Original Message-----
From: The EDUCAUSE Security Discussion Group Listserv
[mailto:SECURITY@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Rodney Petersen
Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2004 12:10 PM
To: SECURITY@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: [SECURITY] Colleges and Universities Recognize Cyber Security Day
with Campus Events


Thank you to everyone who responded to my request a few days ago regarding
campus activities events being planned in conjunction with Cyber Security
Day (April 4th).  Below is a press release (also available at
http://www.educause.edu/news/news_item.asp?Year=2004&ID=032604) that was
distributed to media contacts yesterday.  If you are planning events but did
not respond to the earlier request, please let me know because we want to
compile a complete list of campus activities.

Additionally, we want to encourage you to start planning NOW for the next
Cyber Security Day in the fall:  October 31st.  We are encouraging campuses
to plan activities during the week of October 25th-29th or throughout the
month of October.  The Education and Awareness Working Group of the Security
Task Force will be compiling further suggestions and awareness resources
over the coming months.

Thanks,

Rodney Petersen
Security Task Force Coordinator, EDUCAUSE



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Rodney Petersen
Policy Analyst and Security Task Force Coordinator EDUCAUSE 
rpetersen@educause.edu
202-331-5368

Michelle Pollak
Media Relations Manager
Internet2
mpollak@internet2.edu
202-331-5345

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COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES RECOGNIZE CYBER SECURITY DAY WITH CAMPUS EVENTS
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Washington, D.C., March 26, 2004--Setting your clocks forward or back for
Daylight Saving Time and replacing the batteries in smoke detectors are
rituals repeated every spring and fall. Similarly, the National Cyber
Security Alliance (<http://www.staysafeonline.info>) established April 4,
2004, as Cyber Security Day to raise awareness about Internet safety and
computer security issues. Colleges and universities across the country are
planning security education and awareness events between March 29 and April
2 to help promote Cyber Security Day.

Rutgers University is encouraging its students, faculty, and staff to
"Spring Ahead to Security!!" on a Web site devoted to National Cyber
Security Day (<http://rusecure.rutgers.edu/cybersecurityday/>). In addition
to campus presentations on identity theft, the Web site suggests steps that
the campus community can take "in the quest for better security" such as
using antivirus software and keeping it up-to- date weekly, exercising
caution when opening e-mail attachments, selecting hard-to-guess passwords
and keeping them private, backing up important files, downloading and
installing operating system update patches, avoiding risks of file sharing,
using a password-protected screensaver, locking up computers when not in
use, and using a firewall to protect computers from intruders. Lance D.
Jordan, director of Information Protection and Security at Rutgers, said,
"Providing personal information over the Internet has become a risky
proposition and our community needs to be aware of the risks and protective
measures that are easily practiced to surf cyberspace safely."

The George Mason University IT Security Office is featuring a week-long
lineup of lunchtime presentations promoting cyber security awareness
(<http://security.gmu.edu/nationalcybersecurityday.html>). Topics include
network security and denial-of-service attacks, desktop strategies to secure
your cyberspace, file sharing, and more. Joy Hughes, CIO and vice president
for Information Technology at George Mason, believes that it is important
for faculty, staff, and students to have a role in planning security
awareness events. She said, "Our workshop content is determined by
consulting with the members of the university-wide Systems Administrators'
Leadership Team; the Security Review Panel; and other faculty, staff, and
student groups working to improve security."

The University of Arizona developed a series of humorous posters to
reinforce messages that are designed to prevent identity theft and other
consequences of improperly secured computers
(<http://security.arizona.edu/posters.html>). The slogan for the Arizona
campaign emphasizes that the key to security is derived from the word
itself: sec-U-R-IT-y. In other words, "You Are It!" Kelley Bogart, an
analyst in the Information Security Office at the University of Arizona, is
co-chair of the Education and Awareness Working Group of the
EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Computer and Network Security Task Force that is
encouraging higher education institutions to hold events in conjunction with
Cyber Security Day. "We want information technology users to understand that
they are part of the solution. Although good security should be practiced
every day throughout the year, we believe there is benefit in colleges and
universities participating in a national campaign that focuses everyone's
attention on the critical problems associated with information security,"
Bogart said.

Shirley Payne, director of Security Coordination and Policy in the Office of
Information Technologies at the University of Virginia and a member of the
Security Task Force Education and Awareness Working Group, remarked, "Think
of this scenario: The CEO of a major corporation is hearing about cyber
security at work. When she gets home, her young son shows her a poster he's
crafted to submit to a cyber security poster contest. Turning on the TV, she
sees a public service announcement concerning the need to secure her home
computer, and driving to work the next day, she hears an NPR interview on
the great successes of higher education in reducing the impact of viruses
and worms." Payne has published on the topic of developing campus-wide
security education and awareness in "EDUCAUSE Quarterly" ([PDF 57 KB]
<http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EQM0347.pdf>) and in a new book
entitled "Computer and Network Security in Higher Education." The University
of Virginia is also part of the Virginia Alliance for Secure Computing and
Networking (VASCAN) that has compiled a collection of security tools and
best practices from Virginia universities
(<http://www.vascan.org/categories/security_awareness.html>).

The EDUCAUSE/Internet2 Security Task Force is a sponsor of the National
Cyber Security Alliance and supports efforts to promote online safety and
create security awareness among the general public. The Security Task Force
also contributed to the Awareness and Outreach Task Force report released on
March 18 by the National Cyber Security Partnership
(<http://www.cyberpartnership.org/>). The Security Task Force is fulfilling
one of the recommendations of the report by encouraging and supporting
events at higher education institutions that observe Cyber Security Day. The
next Cyber Security Day will be on October 31, 2004.

********************************
ABOUT EDUCAUSE
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher
education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The
current membership comprises nearly 1,900 colleges, universities, and
education organizations, including more than 170 corporations. EDUCAUSE has
offices in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Learn more about EDUCAUSE
at <http://www.educause.edu/about/>.

ABOUT INTERNET2
Led by more than 200 U.S. universities, working with industry and
government, Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and
technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of
tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia,
industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy.
For more information about Internet2, see <http://www.internet2.edu>.

********************************
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