Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Computer-related issues ranging from "phishing" to cyber stalking will be examined in detail next week [Oct. 13-17] as Mississippi State observes Cyber Security Awareness Week.
Public lectures and panel discussions by national, state and local professionals in the field will spotlight the dangers of computer hackers, as well as the latest safety measures used to protect sensitive information, said Thomas Ritter, security and compliance officer for the university's Information Technology Services.
He also is a member of the campus Information Security Committee, which is co-sponsoring the events with the Division of Student Affairs, Provost's Office and Center for Computer Security Research.
"Computer users face increasingly sophisticated challenges, ranging from complying with copyright regulations for downloading music to recognizing scams that seek to collect personal information such as Social Security numbers," Ritter said.
The latter is termed phishing, a contemporary term possibly coined by hackers in the 1990s to describe any criminally fraudulent attempt to gain information that may lead to identity theft or other unauthorized uses.
"Our goal is to raise awareness and provide tips that can guard against potential dangers," Ritter explained.
The MSU Cyber Security Awareness Week topics and speakers include:
--Monday [the 13th], "The History and Future of Malicious Code," Fred Cohen, Grisham Room of Mitchell Memorial Library, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
--Tuesday [the 14th], Shackouls Honors Forum panel discussion on copyright, 401 Griffis Hall, 12:30-1:45 p.m. Panelists include Ritter; Thomas Bourgeois, MSU associate dean of students; and Bradley Brazzeal, an assistant professor at Mitchell Memorial Library.
--Also Tuesday in Mitchell's Grisham Room, a 2:30-3:30 p.m. presentation on cyber crime and cyber stalking by Jean Vaughan, special assistant attorney general and head of the Cyber Crime Fusion Center.
--Wednesday [the 15th], "Technical Cracks in the Critical Infrastructure of the U.S.," Joe Weiss, Grisham Room, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Cohen is considered one of the world's leading authorities in information protection. Best known as the inventor of computer virus defense techniques, he is a research professor at the University of New Haven and head of a private company providing consultation and analysis for leading industries and the U.S. government.
Weiss is an industry expert on control systems and electronic security of control systems, with more than three decades of experience in the energy industry. He led the Nuclear Plant Instrumentation and Diagnostics Program, among others, at the Electric Power Research Institute. The developer of numerous utility industry security primers and implementation guidelines, he is a certified information security manager who has earned numerous professional awards.
Vaughan, a graduate of the Mississippi College Law School, is a frequent speaker on issues of school safety and the Internet.
A part of MSU's James Worth Bagley College of Engineering, the Center for Computer Security Research, which is sponsoring the guest speakers, has been designated a national Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education.
In addition to presentations, the Cyber Security Week activities include information booths set up 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Thursday on the first floor of Colvard Student Union. Also, winning entries in a poster competition sponsored by the Residence Hall Association also will be displayed in the union.
For those attending events, T-shirts will be provided as long as supplies last.
(For more, visit www.infosecurity.msstate.edu.)
For more information, contact Ritter at 662-325-3709 or ritter@its.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.