For more than 16 years, ITS Information Assurance (IA) has invited UM-Ann Arbor students, including medical students, to take an online quiz to raise awareness about IT security issues and promote best practices during National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Those who score 90% or higher on the 10-question quiz are entered into a drawing for prizes. This year, students on the UM-Dearborn and UM-Flint campuses were also invited to participate in the prize drawings.
During the last two weeks of October, more U-M students than ever took the quiz (over 8,200!). IA and the Tech Shop also offered more prizes than ever, including Apple Watches, iPads, Apple AirPods, Tech Shop gift cards, and a variety of smaller items.
After the prizes were awarded, IA and the Tech Shop solicited student feedback on how to increase participation in the Cybersecurity Challenge. We heard from 349 students, and in response to the feedback, plan to implement the following improvements in 2022:
- Communications across more channels, such as departmental emails and a Canvas tout.
- More promotion about the number of prizes and chances of winning.
- Customized forms for selecting prize colors.
IA provides a number of tools that help educate the entire U-M community about the importance of IT security and privacy best practices. You too can test your knowledge of cybersecurity!
- Take the Cybersecurity Challenge to test your own knowledge with the same quiz that students took.
- Learn about clues that reveal phishing emails and what to do if you take the bait in the Look Before You Click. Beware of Phishing! course in My LINC.
- Explore the Safe Computing website for a wealth of information on how to safeguard yourself at work and at home.
