Cybersecurity experts share tips, information at PBSC
Officials from the FBI, Secret Service and top cybersecurity professionals paid a visit to Palm Beach State College Thursday—not to investigate, but to educate.
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and these experts participated in a day-long series of lectures and panel discussions on the state of cybersecurity in the nation and the best ways individuals can protect themselves and their data from hackers and identity thieves.
PBSC President Ava L. Parker, J.D. kicked off the Lake Worth campus event, which covered a variety of topics, such as the Cyber Threat Landscape, Preventing Zero-day Threats, Identity Theft, Privacy and the Internet of Things, and Careers in Cybersecurity.
One session featured Greg Chavarria, assistant city manager and chief information officer for the City of Hallandale Beach. He gave a talk titled “90 Ways to Stay Safe Online,” based on the free e-book created by his department.
“Humans are the weakest link,” Chavarria said, citing an IBM research statistic that 75 percent of all cyber incidents are a result of human error. “The more you can stay in tune with what is being utilized in methods of attack, the more information that you can get and read about, and the more awareness you can bring to your colleagues, then the more value you can bring to your organization.”
Guy Albertini, PBSC information security officer, and John Sewell, PBSC cybersecurity lab manager, organized the event to increase awareness of the digital vulnerabilities that everyone faces.
“The use of computers is ubiquitous and integrated into our daily lives, but we’re not all aware of the dangers,” Albertini said. “We hope students came away excited about the career potential in cybersecurity, and that all attendees gained a better understanding of the current cyber threats and how we can protect ourselves.”
Visit the National Cybersecurity Awareness Month website for more information, resources and tips.
View the photo album of the event.
Learn about PBSC’s computer science pathways, from associate degrees to bachelor’s degrees in Information Management, including a concentration in Security and Network Assurance.
