Athens, Ga. – During October, the University of Georgia Enterprise Information Technology Services is hosting educational programs and highlighting services designed to increase the awareness of cyber safety for faculty, staff and students.
Lynn Latimer Wilson, EITS assistant chief information officer, said the events are being held in recognition of National Cyber Security Awareness Month. “The statistics of cyber crime and breaches of cyber security are alarming,” said Wilson. “It is important that consumers, including our university community, take precautionary measures to assure their cyber safety and the cyber safety of UGA.”
A recent edition of PC Magazine indicates that 18 people fall victim to a cyber crime every second. Almost half of all online adults have been attacked by malware, viruses, hacking, scams, fraud or theft. Last year alone, breaches of cyber security cost U.S. consumers $21 billion. The average cost per person to recover after becoming a victim of cyber crime is $197. As a result, the global cost of fighting cyber crime has skyrocketed to $110 billion.
According to Wilson, EITS will host two events to commemorate Cyber Security Awareness Month. On Oct. 24 from 1-5 p.m. at the UGA Training and Development Center, an updated, face-to-face training on security basics will be held. Taught by the staff of EITS, the Basic Computer Security Boot Camp covers security requirements for UGA and techniques for safer computing and Internet use, both at work and home. To register for the course, see http://www.hr.uga.edu/training.
In addition, EITS will conduct its Computer Health and Security Fair Oct. 31 from 9-3:30 p.m. in the second floor rotunda of the Miller Learning. The fair will offer free anti-virus and malware removal, security checks and consultation and general troubleshooting for personal PC and Mac computers.
Along with events, EITS is offering several new services and sites. The PAWS-Secure wireless service is now available to all faculty, staff and students on the Athens campus, allowing for easier access to wireless connections. All campus constituents are encouraged to use this secure service, which requires only a one-time setup. Once a device is configured for PAWS-Secure, it will remain connected to the wireless network. For more information about PAWS-Secure, see http://eits.uga.edu/network_and_phones/wireless.
An updated information security website is now available, which provides easier access to important security information, policies and best practices. The site is organized by resources available to faculty, staff and students. To access the new site, see http://infosec.uga.edu.
A new informational section related to security awareness is now available on the EITS website. This page includes topics such as phishing, malicious advertising, online checklists and helpful online links. To access this awareness information, see http://eits.uga.edu/access_and_security/infosec/security_awareness.
In addition, a new EITS service allows faculty, staff and students to send email attachments containing sensitive information or to send file attachments that are too large for email services. For more information on SendFiles, see http://sendfiles.uga.edu.
For more information on Cyber Security Awareness Month activities, email infosec@uga.edu.
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