Colleges and Universities Recognize Cyber Security Day with Campus Events

[Rodney Petersen <rpetersen () EDUCAUSE EDU>]

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.

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The current membership comprises nearly 1,900 colleges, universities,
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EDUCAUSE has offices in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Learn
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<http://www.internet2.edu>.

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