FIU showcases cyber security awareness

Chloe B. Gonzalez/Asst. Entertainment Director

 

The University and the Information Technology Department is celebrating Cybersecurity Awareness Month by hosting events and discussions to teach Panthers about how to stay safe while surfing the web.

In 2003, government agencies established Cybersecurity Awareness Month as a campaign to provide users with information about cybersecurity and help them understand its implications.

“It’s important for us to make sure that the students, faculty, and staff … understand that there’s risks involved and there’s precautions we could take to mitigate the risks,” Helvetiella Longoria, IT associate director for the University, said to Student Media.

For students, some of these include information sessions in the Graham Center pit, such as the one to be held on Oct. 26 where panelists will speak about cybersecurity. Faculty and staff can attend “Lunch and Learn” sessions where they come in for an hour to receive information and ask questions, explained Longoria.

Each event teaches faculty, staff and students the importance of cybersecurity and management methods to utilise in both their work life and private life. They also learn how to identify and prevent cyber attacks such as identity theft, phishing and ransomware.

“We try to help our students be more educated, become aware about how to protect their identity … and just make sure that the students understand the risks … I’ve heard from a lot of students that they’ve already had their identity stolen,” Longoria said.

At these events, FIU’s IT officials teach Panthers several methods of protecting themselves from those attacks, one being anti-virus software. They also explain the importance of keeping electronic devices patched and updated. If attendees have their laptops with them, IT officials can run a system security analysis to ensure that their device is secure.

IT officials also remind students to be wary of the websites and free applications they use. Those free apps collect information about the user and can track them as well, explains Longoria.

In addition, officials stress the importance of long, unique passwords on all devices. To avoid phishing attacks, they warn students against giving out their passwords and credentials on seemingly-credible sites, until they’ve verified the legitimacy of the websites. The same goes for email addresses — no information should be given until it has been verified.

“It’s really an opportunity for us [to] inform the students, and we also do it for faculty and staff as well, to think before you click, and more importantly, know that the internet unfortunately is not a very safe place,” Robert Grillo, vice president of IT and chief information officer, said to Student Media.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month also strives to help users understand the risks of over sharing. Students should to be vigilant, responsible and cautious about how much they post on social media, say the University’s IT officials.

Besides hosting Cybersecurity Awareness Month events every October, the University offers help and information on cybersecurity year round. Students can receive free anti-virus software such as LiveSafe at the PantherTech store. They are also available to answer any questions or concerns students may have, whether it’s with installing the software or otherwise.

Also, over the summer, FIU implemented two-factor authentication on my.fiu.edu to secure accounts and further verify their identities. Now, after providing username and passwords a second authentication method is required when logging into their accounts. By receiving a phone call, entering a passcode or approving the push notification through the DuoMobile phone application, access is granted into accounts.

“You look at all the threats and breaches that have happened … It’s more and more important that people know how to protect themselves on the internet … Students [should] try to use the two-factor on their ‘my accounts’ … but not just on myFIU, protect yourself on bank, Gmail,” said Vincent Perez, a graduate student of information technology on the security track.

“It’s very important to get the message out, to make sure that our younger generation understands because this is the future. Technology is not going away … Protect yourself, protect your information,” Longoria said.  

For more information about upcoming cybersecurity events and how to be a secure Panther, visit security.fiu.edu. To subscribe for McAfee LiveSafe for free as a Panther, visit tech.fiu.edu/livesafe.

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