Information Security Office encourages students, faculty, staff to enter to win prizes by testing their cybersecurity knowledge

Every October, Ohio University, along with thousands of other organizations, participates in Cybersecurity Awareness Month activities to champion safer and more secure online practices.

Each year, the Ohio University Information Security Office works to raise awareness through activities such as cybersecurity competitions, a Cybersecurity Awareness Conference, and various awareness articles to increase the University’s cybersecurity knowledge. 

For a fun new twist to this year’s activities, OHIO students, faculty, and staff can test their cybersecurity knowledge and help us beat Miami University by competing in CyberMania. Complete the survey at this link and be entered to win a prize pack from OHIO's Information Security Office.

All faculty and staff are also encouraged to complete the Online IT Security training, if they have not done so already. University departments that have the highest rate of completion at the end of October will be recognized as Cybersecurity Champions and the winning department will receive a cookie party courtesy of the Information Security Office. Finally, as an ongoing effort to #BeCyberSmart, the Information Security Office will promote different key behaviors via a weekly awareness article throughout the month of October that can help every Bobcat protect their online lives.

As the first key behavior, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) would like to encourage all OHIO students, faculty and staff to use strong passwords. Passwords are a line of defense between your data and the outside world. Much like locking your door before leaving home, a strong password is vital for keeping your sensitive and personal data out of the hands of bad actors and cybercriminals. 

With an ever-increasing landscape of online accounts, the average internet user might have more than 100 digital accounts. It can be tempting to re-use account credentials or make simple, easy to remember passwords. However, this can expose your account to attackers. 

To help keep our community safe, OIT has put together a variety of password resources, including tips for creating strong passwords, safe password practices, and information about LastPass, our University password manager tool.