Wheaton Employees Participate in Cybersecurity Training

Posted March 22, 2017 by Academic and Institutional Technology
Tags: Training Security

Wheaton Employees Participate in Cybersecurity Training

Wheaton College faculty and staff are currently participating in cybersecurity training as part of the College's response to data security risks identified by GreyCastle Security.

GreyCastle Security performed a data security risk assessment at Wheaton College last fall. Their assessment identified security risks and also provided strategies to improve security and mitigate risks in the future.

"GreyCastle and other industry leaders advise that employees’ lack of training and awareness of appropriate data and information security behaviors is a primary contributor to increased risk and possible information breach," said Chief Information Officer Wendy Woodward in a February 23 email to faculty and staff. "To address this at Wheaton College, we have contracted with a top-rated security training tool, Securing the Human, to provide a learning opportunity for all employees who have access to College data."

Securing the Human training, which began on March 15, focuses on helping employees recognize and respond appropriately to suspicious websites, spam or phishing emails, suspicious websites, signs of a virus infection, and more. The training also helps employees understand what behaviors are risky and which are safer.

"One of the biggest threats of malware these days is ransomware," said Director of Infrastructure and Security Harvard Townsend. "Ransomware maliciously encrypts all your data…The criminals then demand a ransom in order for you to get your data back."

"We have had two instances of ransomware at Wheaton in recent history and I’ve seen numerous reports of ransomware outbreaks at other colleges and universities," said Townsend.

"Regular data and information security training is one way we can collectively become more aware and be on guard against these efforts," said Woodward.

Employees have until March 31 to complete Securing the Human cybersecurity training, though many employees have already completed training.

You can learn more about the training or log in to the training site here. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Academic and Institutional Technology at 630.752.4357 (HELP) or by email at ait.service.desk@wheaton.edu.