Cybersecurity awareness program planning is underway

January 6, 2020

Turn on the news and chances are good you have heard about the latest cyber-attack or, in other words, digital attacks to steal your money or other valuable, personal information. Those attacks can extend to your life at Yale, too. Criminals are eager to access and exploit Yale data and information. As cybercrime grows in frequency and sophistication, from phishing emails to ransomware, Yale’s Information Security Office is taking proactive steps to prevent cyberattacks through a multi-tiered approach. This includes the implementation of a campus-wide cybersecurity awareness program for faculty, students, and staff. The team strives to help protect Yale and support the fulfillment of its mission.

Initiated last fall with the hiring of its first Cybersecurity Awareness Advisor, Wendy Battles, the awareness program seeks to inform and engage the Yale community about cyber-secure actions that protect both Yale’s data and individuals’ personal information and help prevent cyber-attacks. Initial planning is underway and includes:

  • Facilitating focus groups with IT and individuals across campus, representing a diverse group of stakeholders, to understand current awareness levels
  • Collecting cybersecurity awareness information through a survey, to aid in planning
  • Analyzing and identifying key themes from data collection activities
  • Learning about awareness efforts at peer institutions
  • Drafting cybersecurity awareness guiding principles

These activities will lay the foundation for creating a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness program strategy that will officially launch later in 2020. Do you have ideas about how to build cybersecurity awareness? We’d love to hear your feedback. Weigh-in by completing a brief survey or register to attend the March 19 InfoSec Chat to share your ideas. 

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