Throughout the month of February, the NC State Office of Information Technology (OIT) will host a plethora of events that all encompass the idea of having control over one’s own privacy and digital footprint. “Protect the Pack! Protect Your Selfie!” is the theme that OIT has instituted for Data Privacy Month.

Data Privacy Month is an annual event put on by the OIT that is sponsored by National Cyber Security Alliance. The nonprofit organization held an event on Jan. 25, Data Privacy Day, that was streamed internationally to spread awareness about the importance of security online. Institutions, such as NC State, can decide how they would like to educate and spread awareness about being cyber aware to their respective communities.

The Data Privacy Month keynote will take place on Tuesday and is called “Love Your Selfie: Use Social Media Securely,” which Nick Love, the new director of Social Media Strategy Hub at NC State University Communications, will be delivering. The event will give users security tips and configurations that anyone can set up to prevent personal data from getting into the wrong hands.

Katie McInerney, chair of the Cyber Security Awareness Team at the OIT, spoke about how Love’s discussion will be more than about the importance of being “private” on one’s personal Instagram page. 

“[Love]’s also going to bring some personal experiences from different companies that he’s worked at,” McInerney said. “It will have not only a user, like a personal home angle, but will also cross over to the business world because, of course, a lot of the units and departments here on campus have work-related social media accounts, so [it] will be able to touch on both of those uses.”

Meghan Thomas, a second-year studying middle grades education for social studies and language arts, said she takes basic precautionary measures to protect herself from cyberattacks such as phishing.

“To keep my information secure, I usually just try and make sure all my private information has a password on it or I’m not using the same password for every website,” Thomas said. “I also keep my social media accounts private and only let people I know follow me those accounts.”

As additional parts of Data Privacy Month, there are presentations concerning iOS device security and Android device security. McInerney discussed why so many of the events are focused on social media and mobile phone security.

“We always try to focus on mobile device security,” McInerney said. “You know everything is happening on your phone, and you know if that gets into the wrong hands, then the bad guys can access a lot of personal uncensored information; so we’re trying to prevent that from happening and inform people and users on how they can better protect their mobile device[s], which allows access to all kinds of information about who they are.” 

For Isaac Martin, a first-year studying industrial engineering and NC State student IT Technician, securing his personal account information is a priority, and he makes it known to students as well.

“When it comes to students security online, it’s the small things, strong passwords, awareness of who you give access to your information, and I am often wary of ‘free Wi-Fi’ connections,” Martin said. “And as student IT staff, online privacy of both staff and students are of utmost importance.”

The OIT will also have a table at the Wolfpack Way of Life Wellness Fair on Feb. 21 in Talley Student Union, where students and faculty can learn more about mobile security as well as two-factor authentication, a protective service offered at NC State. There are also brief educational videos that students have access to on their Moodle accounts where they can learn how to protect any kind of data.

McInerney spoke about the influence she believes this event will have on campus.

“I think it’s going to really impact everyone on campus,” McInerney said. “We’re encouraging faculty, staff, students to come and you know, hopefully, learn some ways that they can better protect themselves and prevent the bad guys from accessing information and us[ing] it in the wrong way.”

For students interested in signing up for upcoming events, they can visit the OIT website.