Technology has made it possible for a thief to not be
present at a business to steal from it.
Case in point. Recently, a young man with a laptop sat
in his car outside of a major retail chain and siphoned
private customer information from the store's wireless
connection. Fortunately, the FBI caught him.
 |
Lawver |
Large retail chains have large information assurance departments
and loss prevention teams, but smaller businesses may not
know where to turn for help.
Eastern Michigan University's Center for Information Assurance
is helping small businesses receive free help. The center
recently sponsored Cyber Security Training Oct. 30 at the
Sheraton Ann Arbor.
"We want to help our students while giving small businesses
the ability to protect their information from threats," said
Gerald "Skip" Lawver, director of EMU's information assurance
program. "Small businesses are considered low-hanging fruit
for cyber criminals because they are easy to steal from.
Cyber criminals steal millions from small businesses."
The seminar offered workshops, including cyber security
landscape, industrial control systems applications, practical
applications of cyber security and cyber security evaluation
tools (CSET).
The Critical Infrastructure Cyber Protection and Awareness
Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security provided
instruction for the seminar. The seminar provided a foundation
for small business owners and representatives to understand
the changing landscape of cyber security and evaluate where
they may need help in protecting their business, Lawver
said.
Once the training was complete, businesses were eligible
to enlist the help of students from the information assurance
program, either through an internship or co-op (paid internship).
Lawver said there are approximately 100 students who could
help area businesses with protecting their information.
Some companies are not comfortable putting that kind of
information in the hands of a student, Lawver said. But,
he added that the program has vetted every student and
has reviewed their resume to ensure the student meets predetermined
standards for their area of expertise.
"The risk is minimal for businesses and the return is
tangible," Lawver said.
Compsat Technology and the State of Michigan Department
of Technology also sponsored the seminar.
For information, call 487-3170.
