October is Cyber Security Month

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online, while increasing the resiliency of the Nation during cyber-threats.

The University of Nebraska is promoting the month with a variety of stories, events and tips throughout the month to help raise awareness of importance of cybersecurity.

The state’s Cybersecurity Conference kicks things off on Sept. 27 leading into the Women Advance I.T. Conference Oct. 2-3 at University of Nebraska Innovation Campus. The conference also features the Cybersecurity Escape Room Challenge, an interactive and fun way to participate in security awareness.

NU ITS staff Andrea Childress and Cheryl O’Dell and Renee Peters from Norrtheast Community College, as well as Leilani Lauger from the University of Chicago, will present on "Women In Security” at the event as well.

Not only will Escape Room Challenges be at the conference, but more will be offered at UNK, UNL and UNO throughout the month. See Escape Room Schedules and Register. Be on the lookout for education and feature stories throughout the month on “Educating for a Career in Cybersecurity” and “It’s Everyone’s Job to Ensure Online Safety at Work.”

Thursday, October 11 at 11 am from the East Campus Union and Zoom (https://unl.zoom.us/j/792259820), Matt Saad from the FBI, Omaha office is presenting on Cyber Crimes.

The month concludes with Cybersecurity Interest Meeting over Zoom Oct. 22 (https://unl.zoom.us/j/492572840) but the Escape Room Challenges, training and more does not.

For more information about the month or questions and info on Cybersecurity contact:
its-sec@nebraska.edu.

More About Cybersecurity Escape Room Challenge

IT Security Awareness is a struggle. People want to use computers and browse the internet safely; but do not really want to sit through a discussion or watch videos to be made aware of the latest security threats. Come and have some fun with a group of friends, or come make some new friends while figuring out the clues to solve the case in this Cybersecurity Escape Room challenge. The take aways will be multi-faceted.

Participants will learn about: how to tell the difference between real emails and phishing or SPAM emails, how to use (and not use) USB drives, the importance of using strong passwords, how to think critically about a situation, how to work as a team.

See Escape Room Schedules and Register

More About Women Advance I.T. Conference #WIITNE

The theme is Women Advancing the Future of Information Technology in Higher Education.

The agenda includes speakers from across the nation, including featured keynotes Meghan O’Leary, Olympian on How to Reach Your Potential Every Day, as well as Jenny Evans, Founder and CEO of Powerhouse Performance, and Melissa Woo, Sr. Vice President for IT and CIO at Stony Brook University.

Women in Security Presentation

In a computing workforce study from 2017, 26 percent of the computing workforce were women; but being a woman in Cybersecurity is even more rare. From the 2017 Global Information Security Workforce Study, a white paper from Frost & Sullivan, women represent only 14% of the Cybersecurity Workforce in North America.

What is even more disappointing is that percentage has not changed in four years. Come hear from three women who decided upon a career in Cybersecurity – how they got where they are, how important it is to be a women in security and bringing diversity to the IT team as a whole, as well as some struggles they have faced and great opportunities they experienced.

See the Agenda and More

More About National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

NCSAM is now in ts 15th year as an annual initiative to raise awareness. NCSAM 2018 takes a two-part, synced approach to facilitating discussion and emphasis on cybersecurity as our shared responsibility. Deparment of Homeland Security (DHS) will promote and emphasize four key messages, tied together by one overarching theme. DHS's key messages are month-long goals designed to drive cybersecurity discussions, events, resources, and activities from DHS.

Overarching Theme

• Cybersecurity is our shared responsibility and we all must work together to improve our Nation's cybersecurity

Key Messages

• Strengthen the Nation's cybersecurity ecosystem
• Cybersecurity is a cross-cutting, cross-sector challenge, so we must tackle it together
• Increase and strengthen the cybersecurity workforce across all sectors
• Secure critical infrastructure from cyber threats