Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and to ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online. Each October, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) and its Center for Security Studies (CSS) proudly champion and celebrate this essential online safety, awareness, and education initiative.
On this page, we will post recaps and links to videos of previous years' Cybersecurity Awareness Month presentations, featuring cyber leaders, professors, and experts discussing some of the prominent cyber issues at the time.
Cyber Month 2023
See below for descriptions for this month's events. We have highlighted UMGC-hosted events as well as relevant events from leading cybersecurity organizations participating in Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023.
As 2023 draws to a close, we commemorate 20 years of Cybersecurity Awareness Month! In honor of this milestone, our presenters looked at how far security education and awareness has come in that time, and where it needs to go to fulfill our vision of a secure interconnected world. Our expert panel of UMGC experts included:
- James Roberston, program director, cyber devops
- Patrick Appiah-Kubi, program director, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and computer networking
- Jesse Varsalone, collegiate associate professor, cybersecurity technology
This event took place Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, Noon–1 p.m. ET online via Zoom.
Jesse Varsalone, UMGC collegiate associate professor in cybersecurity technology, hosted a "Tech Talk" presentation on penetration testing of ICS/SCADA/IoT devices. After exploiting the device, Varsalone reviewed artifacts left by the attacker and discussed remediation techniques to secure these types of devices.
The event was hosted by MISI, a Maryland-based cybersecurity nonprofit, and took place Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, Noon–1 p.m. ET online via Zoom.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is an approach to verifying user identity using at least one method of authentication. It is a security measure that acts as an extra layer of defense, preventing unauthorized users from accessing confidential information. Todd Pearce, manager of IT security operations at UMGC, discussed this important tool in securing user identities and access management.
This event took place Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, Noon–1 p.m. ET online via Zoom.
Chuck Gardner, senior advisor for the Cyber Innovation Center, spoke about K-12 cybersecurity curriculum, resources, and activities for educators. This discussion centered on federally funded resources that are appropriate for high school teachers, K-8 teachers, instructors, and caregivers. Attendees learned how students can earn industry-based credentials before graduating from high school, including CompTIA Security+.
This event took place Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, Noon–1 p.m. ET online via Zoom.
Dr. Aaron Drew—senior enterprise solutions architect in the Office of Information & Technology, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and UMGC adjunct associate professor—spoke about how the U.S. government aims to move toward "zero trust" cybersecurity principles to protect its supply chain technical environment. The discussion focused on the tools, technologies, and approaches that ultimately support this strategy.
This event took place Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, Noon–1 p.m. ET online via Zoom.
Level Up Your Cyber Game:
- Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, 3–4 p.m. ET
- Hosted by the NCA
- Attendees joined us for a turbocharged webinar gameshow and tested their cyber skills! They took part in thrilling challenges and strategic quandaries and learned essential info and practical techniques to safeguard their digital lives.
20 Years of Cyber Awareness Month:
- Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, 2–3:30 p.m. ET
- Hosted by the NCA
- We've come a long way in 20 years, but we still have more to do. We must secure technology, protect critical infrastructure, and bridge the cyber career gap. Event attendees joined elected officials, government leaders, and industry executives to examine the road ahead.
2023 USDA Cybersecurity Expo:
- Tuesday, Oct. 3–Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m. ET (both days)
- Hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Event participants chose from more than 25 info sessions presented by industry experts. They learned about the development of the cyber workforce, AI, cyber modernization, and more.
NCA Cybersecurity Event:
- Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, Noon–1 p.m. ET
- Hosted by the NCA
- Our expert panelists discussed public attitudes and beliefs about cybersecurity.
Maryland STEM Festival:
- Oct. 13–Nov. 11, 2023
- The Maryland STEM Festival is a month-long celebration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Attendees chose from hundreds of events throughout Maryland focused on fun, interactive STEM learning opportunities.
Cyber Month 2022
The 2022 campaign theme—“See Yourself in Cyber”—casts a lens on our everyday cyber decision-making. For all its inherent complexity, an organization's cybersecurity operation is only as strong as its people. We provide information and resources to help educate the public and to ensure all individuals and organizations make smart, safe decisions about information security.
Log4j is used worldwide across software applications and online services, and the vulnerability requires very little expertise to exploit. This makes Log4shell potentially the most severe computer vulnerability in years. Ben Crenshaw, senior PeopleSoft engineer at Oracle, discussed this vulnerability with the UMGC community.
Have you ever wondered if we are living in a machine-generated simulation? How would we know? These questions may seem more at place in a philosophy lecture, but the notion of a simulation is not as far-fetched as we might think. From digital twins to virtual battlegrounds and hyper immersive game environments, reality is not what it seems. Watch this presentation by Jason Pittman, collegiate faculty in the UMGC School of Cybersecurity and Information Technology, to find out more.
The U.S. cyber sector is broad and diverse and faces challenges in holistically leveraging its numerous cyber stakeholders, including the Federal Government, intelligence community, and the public and private sectors. In this presentation, Brian Powers, UMGC program director for homeland security, intelligence, and emergency management, discusses these cyber stakeholders and their roles, missions, and capabilities that defend and protect the U.S. cyber domain against its adversaries.
Watch this in-depth session on impactful cybersecurity leadership, presented by Maj. Gen. Linda Singh, PhD (U.S. Army, Ret.). Having previously served as the Adjutant General of Maryland, Singh has more than 30 years of experience in leadership, consulting, and systems integration experience. In this presentation, Singh focuses on career growth and how to stoke your passion for making an impact through your actions, while highlighting the trajectory of a senior executive.
As a National Security Agency analyst, Laura Corcoran participated in a year-long fellowship with the Maryland Office of Attorney General to provide cybersecurity policy recommendations for the electric distribution system in Maryland. In this webinar, Corcoran introduces the entities involved in the fellowship, addresses cybersecurity issues related to the Maryland electric grid, and provides reflections about her fellowship experience.
UMGC has embarked on a pilot effort to explore utilizing immersive technologies such as virtual reality to deliver educational experiences. As is always the case, adding new technologies brings along with it the possibility of additional cybersecurity challenges. In this presentation, Daniel Mintz, UMGC department chair for information technology within the School of Cybersecurity and Information Technology, provides an overview of the pilot effort and initial thoughts about cybersecurity implications.
Students in non-STEM courses may learn about staying safe online, but too often they miss out on some of the other fundamentals of cybersecurity that may lead them on the path toward the numerous non-technical career areas in the field, such as policy, compliance, and project management. Even students who don’t identify as “technical” should be able to see themselves in cyber. The upcoming 2023 University of Maryland Global Campus GenCyber Interdisciplinary Teacher programs will focus on training non-technical high school teachers how to infuse cybersecurity concepts into their existing courses, exposing more students to cybersecurity awareness, fundamentals, concepts, and ethics. The target high school courses are English, Social Studies, History, Math, Foreign Language, Health and PE, Library Science, History, Music, and Fine Arts.
