Contact: Leah Barbour
Mississippi State will host several public programs examining critical issues of a hyper-connected, Internet-driven world as part of the university's 6th-annual Cybersecurity Awareness Week beginning Oct. 15.
From Tuesday through Thursday [Oct. 15-17], the university's Information Technology Services will sponsor an information booth on Colvard Student Union's first floor from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. each day. Also, program attendees will receive free T-shirts.
Tuesday [the 15th], J. Robert Mahaffey, the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security's cybersecurity director, will explain the Magnolia State's role in cybersecurity awareness and cyberincident response. His address will begin at 10 a.m. in the union's Fowlkes Auditorium.
At 12:30 p.m. that day in McCool Hall's Rogers Auditorium, Tom Ritter, ITS security and compliance officer, and associate professor Brad Brazzeal of MSU Libraries will examine copyright infringement, digital theft and the dangers of piracy. MSU's official position on these topics is available at http://filesharing.msstate.edu/.
At 1 p.m. Wednesday [the 16th] in the Fowlkes Auditorium, Thomas Bourgeois, dean of students, will lead a program titled "Unknowns of the Online World."
The concluding event Thursday [the 17th], also in the Fowlkes Auditorium, will begin at 3:30 p.m. when Ritter presents "Phish Bowl--Don't Get Hooked."
"Being aware of the dangers of cybersecurity is important for everyone," Ritter said. "Everyone uses computers as part of their daily lives, and the impacts of cybercrime affect us all. The Cybersecurity Awareness Week events will show students and the community how to use systems safely and understand the dangers out there.
"So many people get compromised; it's pretty shocking. Awareness is a big part of the answer."
For more, visit www.infosecurity.msstate.edu/csa/ or contact Ritter at 662-325-3709 or ritter@its.msstate.edu.