As a part of ongoing efforts to promote cyber security, the University’s Information Security, Policy, and Records Office is hosting a number of guest speakers for National Cyber Security Awareness Month.
In addition to distributing literature on cyber security around Grounds and helping to maintain an active website, Information Security Analyst Karen McDowell invited four experts in the field of cyber security to speak to the University community.
Overall, McDowell said she was happy with the University’s efforts to combat cyber threats.
“I think the University is doing a superb job compared to the other universities I’m in touch with,” McDowell said.
FireEye Inc. Systems Engineering Director DJ Koehler came to the University Tuesday to speak to students, faculty and staff. FireEye Inc. is a network security company based in the U.S.
“[Koehler] talked to us about the history of cyber attacks, how it’s turned into a big business and the ways we need to think about protection,” McDowell said. “It’s not just a defense posture, but a process.”
Kevin McPeak, a security and mobility architect at Symantec Corporation, will speak about the threat landscape in the final event of the month. However, the Information Security, Policy, and Records Office will continue to host guest speakers throughout the year, including an FBI special agent in February.
“We’re working on promoting cyber security awareness year round, not just in October,” McDowell said.
This focus on cybersecurity is not a new initiative at the University, nor is it a function of the Chinese cyber attack on the University system discovered in June, McDowell said.
“This is not a response to the hacks this summer,” McDowell said. “We’ve been [participating in National Cyber Security Awareness Month] since 2008.”
Efforts like these have enabled the University to receive the designation of National Cyber Security Awareness Month Champion from the National Cyber Security Alliance, an organization sponsored by a number of large companies, including Verizon, Google and Facebook.
“Being a champion and being part of NCSA is a way of pooling information among a lot of universities and companies and sharing what we know, what we do and how we can improve awareness among people,” McDowell said. “This is a way for us all to work together, using a lot of different resources, not just what we have here at the University of Virginia.”
McDowell said one of her main concerns is phishing, an attempt to acquire personal information by posing as someone else in an email or another form of electronic communication.
“Ninety percent of all breaches that occur start with a phishing message,” McDowell said. “Students, faculty and staff click on these messages and their accounts get compromised, they can’t use their emails, but more importantly, their data or identify could be stolen.”
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