Princess Young
Submitted by NIATEC
Computers and the Internet have now become a part of everyday life for a majority of Americans today. Not only are Americans using technology for many of their daily activities, Americans of all ages have caught the “techno bug.” We don’t simply see adults exclusively utilizing the latest technology, but we even see young children with tablets and smart phones now. Technology is quickly being implemented into classrooms as well small and large companies throughout the entire country. Simply put, technology is being utilized everywhere.
Although the Internet is more popular than ever before, it is immensely important for everyone to understand how to properly use their technology from a security standpoint to keep the Internet and our technologies safe for everyone to use and share.
During the month of October, Idaho State University partnered with students of the National Information Assurance Training and Education Center (NIATEC) to promote National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which is an event sponsored nationally by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Throughout October, various events have taken place to provide students, faculty, staff and community members with resources and information on how to safeguard their computers and sensitive information. This year marks the 10-year anniversary for National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Each week during October had a specific theme, such as mobile security or cybercrime.
An informational booth was set up during October in the Pond Student Union Building and Rendezvous Complex at ISU. Interested students, faculty and staff were able to visit the booth and speak with NIATEC students about cyber security and ways to keep themselves safe against cyber threats.
“I liked the booth because it created awareness about cyber security [for everyone on campus],” said Cade Kamachi, a second-year NIATEC student. He also noted that interestingly, as opposed to solely students walking up to the booth, a large number of campus visitors and faculty members frequented the booth to ask questions as well.
Additionally, newspaper articles were published in the ISU student newspaper each week throughout the month that highlighted various cyber security topics such as cybercrime, mobile security and the overall importance of cyber security for everyone.
Supplementary activities included an on-air interview with on-campus radio station KISU and large posters hung up around campus in high-traffic areas to build awareness and to provide “quick facts” that students could easily read as they walked by on their way to and from class. Digital awareness announcements were also posted on the College of Business televisions throughout the building.
This year, an addition to past years’ cyber security month events included K-12 outreach to local schools in the Pocatello community. Middle schools and high schools were contacted and presentations were given to students to inform them about cyber bullying, social media safety, phishing online gaming and other topics tailored for younger students and their cyber-related activities.
Steven Terry, a first-year NIATEC student, said, “Going to the high school was a great opportunity to share knowledge and spread awareness of cyber security to these students.”
During the outreach presentations, students were also introduced to the topic of STEM careers, an acronym that stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.” NIATEC students discussed how cyber security falls into STEM and also provided students with a number of other professions within STEM in which students could be interested in pursuing as a career.
Ray Fox, a second-year NIATEC student, said, “It was nice to see the interest that the middle school [students] took in STEM careers.”
Cyber security is important for everyone to become aware of, and it is always important to learn more about how to keep oneself safe in our ever-growing technological world. For more information on National Cyber Security Awareness Month this October, visit http://www.isu.edu/security or http://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month.
