In observance of October being National Cyber Security Awareness month, ACU is joining with the National Cyber Security Alliance and other universities in promoting awareness and education regarding safe and secure computing practices.  During the month of October ACU will provide updated information related to safe computing practices as well as providing Network Security training for faculty and staff.

Did you know?

• there are well over 605 million users on the Internet
• One in 50 emails circulating on the Internet is viral (contains a virus)
• An unpatched and unprotected computer can be infected by a virus in less than 12 minutes when it’s connected to the Internet
• Since August 2004, over 600,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and donors from twenty institutions of higher education have been notified that their sensitive data may have been exposed due to a network security breach

These figures represent just a sampling of the staggering figures related to why it is important that universities and university network users should be conscious about network security.  Being connected to the ACU network and the Internet means a wealth of information is at your finger tips.  It also means that ACU network users are at the finger tips of millions of folks who can inflict harm with malicious intent. 

The good news in all of this is that navigating the Internet and being connected can be safe.  It requires some due diligence on an end user’s part, and this benefits not only the end user, but the entire university.