The Cybersecurity virtual conference will be hosted by the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) on
Oct. 6 and Oct. 13 for all students, faculty, staff and invited guests to raise awareness about
cybersecurity threats to the Ohio State community. Credit: Megan Husslein | Lantern Reporter

Along with fall weather and Halloween festivities, October brings Ohio State’s multi-day conference, “Cybersecurity Days.”

The Office of the Chief Information Officer will host the virtual conference, which aims to raise awareness about cybersecurity threats to the Ohio State community, Oct. 13 for all students, faculty, staff and invited guests, according to the cybersecurity website. 

Rich Nagle, chief information security officer, said cybersecurity is important to Ohio State due to the amount of people attending and the vast research done at the school. 

“Cybersecurity is very important in order to protect the research and keep your information and your data safe,” Nagle said.

Attackers want to steal information on research conducted by Ohio State and students’ personal information, Reg Jackson, security engineer for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, said.

“Particularly Ohio State is a target because we do a lot of research,” Jackson said. “It’s not just your regular hackers, it’s like North Korea coming after our research.” 

The two-day conference will feature cybersecurity experts that will provide insight about cybersecurity safety, how it applies to the audience and what can be done to protect themselves, Jackson said.

Jackson said students are especially vulnerable to these attacks because they grew up with technology and have fostered a trust toward it, making them more likely to store sensitive information, which attackers can easily steal.

“Your phone is your life,” Jackson said. “You have your payments in there, ID in there — if you lost your phone, would you know your friend’s phone number?”

The Office of the Chief Information Officer works with everyone, from Ohio State students to the U.S. Department of Defense, when hackers from all over the world threaten to steal students’ information or the university’s research, Jackson said. 

The office has several resources available to protect a student’s digital information, Jackson said.

Individuals can register here for either conference day.