Since then, the themes of the annual campaigns have expanded greatly and are linked to the general theme of “cybersecurity, a shared responsibility”. This year, the theme is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.”
At the national and provincial levels, several major organizations play an important role in creating and sharing simplified content for a general audience:
Of course, the University of Ottawa was also very active in the cyber security awareness campaign this year:
- About 100 participants per event
- More than 500 people in total participated in all the events
- More than 15 events were organized by different groups at the University
- About 20 short papers on important cybersecurity topics.
Also, many discussions at these events covered the following concepts:
- Good cybersecurity practices in our personal lives and in the workplace
- Software updates
- Password management
- Multi-factor authentication
- Open public networks (such as those in coffee shops)
- Antivirus software
- Personal information on social media
- Identity theft
- Backup copies
This led to a lot of interaction between attendees and speakers, which allowed them to walk away more knowledgeable about cybersecurity. You can have access to the presentations now if you missed the sessions.
Cybersecurity is clearly everyone’s business! Several speakers at these meetings and workshops recognized the importance of good cybersecurity hygiene in order to protect yourself and those around you. It is important to be vigilant, but also to ask questions when we are unsure.
All these meetings have inevitably put forward the importance of creating these opportunities for sharing and exchanging. Khadija Marfouk, who recently joined the operational security team, will play a key role within IT in the implementation of the security program and cyber security awareness activities in the future.