CIO Security Awareness Campaign Begins

Keeping private information safe and improving online security for U of G students, faculty and staff will be the focus of a security awareness campaign on campus this October.

The multi-pronged campaign has been created by Guelph’s office of the chief information officer (CIO) and chief librarian. October has been designated by the Government of Canada as Cyber Security Awareness Month.

“Every day new incidents such as phishing scams and compromised accounts are reported to our office, and these incidents are usually caused because people aren’t aware of how to best protect themselves,” said Rebecca Graham, U of G CIO and chief librarian.

“Last year about 900 accounts were compromised and locked, and we’ve had over 600 cases so far in 2013. Our goal for this campaign is to raise overall awareness and also to empower the U of G community so these numbers are significantly reduced.”

Starting on October 1, all students, faculty & staff will be enrolled in a security awareness course on Courselink.

“The student course is self-paced and typically lasts less than an hour. Once finished, the student can print a certificate of completion,” said Gerrit Bos, U of G IT security officer.

“Students will not only learn great tips, this course can be a nice little addition to their resumes.”

He says the staff and faculty course has some additional content and takes about 70-80 minutes to complete.

The campaign will provide security awareness tips to students and staff. Tips include encrypting any sensitive data on devices, using privacy settings on social media, protecting passwords on computers and phones, using secure wifi, and logging out of online services and computers.

Security awareness messages will also appear in Ontarion ads throughout October.

For more information about the U of G campaign, visit the IT security website.

