The NC State Office of Information Technology promoted data privacy and security as part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October. This year’s theme was “Protect the Pack: You are Security.” OIT, along with other campus partners, hosted many virtual events to educate students about protecting their personal data.
This year’s main event was a four-member panel of Google Security experts last Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Information Security Specialist Elizabeth Cole-Walker at the NC State Office of Information Technology, who serves as the chair of information for the Security Awareness Council, explained the goals for Cybersecurity Awareness Month events, which includes making students aware of current and future threats in cybersecurity and teach students on how to better protect themselves online.
According to Cole-Walker, the cybersecurity team is focusing on the individuals in work-from-home settings this year. The slogan for 2020 is “You are SecURity.”
“It’s written with ‘UR’ capitalized because we wanted people to understand that cybersecurity is not just something to protect the University; it’s something to protect you and individuals and their families,” Cole-Walker said. “We’re trying to be more holistic about our approach, not just protecting the pack but also protecting the people you love and care for.”
Cole-Walker said there is one new way in which new security measures are being enacted at NC State, which is beneficial for both students and staff members.
“We are now rolling out mandatory multifactor authentication, or we call it 2FA for students,” Walker said. “Students will need to have 2FA for Google, and they will also need the app Duo. That is adding a level of security. We rolled it out first with the employees a year ago, and this is the first time we’re starting to require students.”
Last October, NC State had a series of in-person training classes on how to use personal mobile devices.
“We had a really big program last year with a bunch of panelists who talked about how they got into cybersecurity,” Cole-Walker said. “We had almost 200 attending. This year, we’ve had to scale back.”
On Oct. 21, NC State hosted a Google panel, where experts from the University explained the security of the University’s Google domain.
“We created this panel to address any questions, especially with researchers,” Cole-Walker said. “We’re really trying to get researchers to participate in this because there are a lot of questions about whether their security is safe in that environment.”
NC State’s Google domain is highly secure, and Cole-Walker encourages students to utilize it.
“We really want people to use our University’s Google domain because it has built-in security for up to red or highly sensitive data,” Cole-Walker said. “Our Google domain is not like your home Google. We actually have set up security.”
Cole-Walker said there are resources available on NC State’s cybersecurity website.
“On there, we always highlight what’s going on,” Cole-Walker said. “February is Data Privacy Month, and October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but we also try to post relevant articles and provide information on training and how you can get help if you have questions on this website.”
Click here to learn more about mobile security and implementing it on mobile devices.
