{"id":30512,"date":"2026-11-09T16:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T21:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/?p=30512"},"modified":"2026-11-11T16:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T21:05:17","slug":"cybersecurity-awareness-month-wrap-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/2026\/11\/09\/cybersecurity-awareness-month-wrap-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Cybersecurity Awareness Month Wrap Up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SUMIT events in October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month, ranged from sessions on cybersecurity topics for the U-M community and a multi-disciplinary panel discussion on election security to gamified experiences for staff and students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Securing What Comes Next: Cybersecurity Leadership in the Age of AI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-600x400.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-600x400.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-400x266.jpeg 400w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-767x511.jpeg 767w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-665x443.jpeg 665w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora.jpeg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, a Fortune 500 company and global leader in AI and cybersecurity serving enterprises and governments worldwide, joined Ravi Pendse, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at U-M, for a candid, forward-looking conversation about cybersecurity leadership in the age of AI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>For a video recording of the event, visit<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/its.umich.edu\/events\/leadership-in-technology\"><strong>Leadership in Technology: Distinguished Lecture Series<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Securing the Vote: Technology, Evidence, and Trust in the 2026 Midterm Elections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:40%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">University of Michigan experts came together for a timely, nonpartisan discussion examining cybersecurity threats to election infrastructure, voting technology and verification, the role of audits and evidence in evaluating results, and the challenge of maintaining public confidence in a rapidly changing information environment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ITS-SecuringTheVote-101226-WEB-22_800-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-600x400.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30514\" srcset=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ITS-SecuringTheVote-101226-WEB-22_800-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-600x400.png 600w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ITS-SecuringTheVote-101226-WEB-22_800-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-400x266.png 400w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ITS-SecuringTheVote-101226-WEB-22_800-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ITS-SecuringTheVote-101226-WEB-22_800-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-767x511.png 767w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ITS-SecuringTheVote-101226-WEB-22_800-Bridget-Weise-Knyal-665x443.png 665w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ITS-SecuringTheVote-101226-WEB-22_800-Bridget-Weise-Knyal.png 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moderated by U-M Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer Ravi Pendse, the panel featured:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>J. Alex Halderman, the Bredt Family Professor of Engineering and an election-cybersecurity researcher.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Walter Mebane, professor of political science and statistics and an expert in election forensics.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mara Ostfeld, research associate professor of public policy and an expert in survey research and public opinion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Information Assurance Sessions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U-M experts hosted virtual sessions on cybersecurity topics. Visit the pages below for a link to the <strong>slide presentation and\/or recording<\/strong> (U-M login required):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/safecomputing.umich.edu\/events\/SUMIT\/day-in-the-life-of-SOC-Incident-Response-analyst\"><strong>A Day in the Life of a SOC\/Incident Response Analyst<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/a>A behind-the-scenes look at the work performed by SOC\/IR analysts to help keep the university secure. (Slides available)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/safecomputing.umich.edu\/Events\/SUMIT\/Security-tips-you-can-use-school-work-home\"><strong>Security Tips You Can Use at School, Work, and Home<\/strong><br><\/a>Practical ways to secure your hybrid workspace, and the essential habits &amp; actionable steps to reduce risk and keep university information secure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/safecomputing.umich.edu\/building-trustworthy-ai-research-compliance-and-security\"><strong>Building Trustworthy AI for Research Compliance and Security<\/strong><br><\/a>How the College of Engineering developed a governance-by-architecture approach for building specialized AI assistants that enforce compliance by design rather than relying on user caution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Level Up Your Cyber Game &#8211; Big Ten<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U-M took <strong>third place<\/strong> this year competing against other Big Ten teams in this friendly fast-paced webinar game show covering cybersecurity topics. It was sponsored by the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Go Blue!<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Safe Computing Popups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_0667-450x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-30521\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7500067195269453\" srcset=\"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_0667-450x600.jpg 450w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_0667-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_0667-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_0667-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_0667-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_0667-665x887.jpg 665w, https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_0667-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ITS staff popped up at four U-M campus locations in Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint with a table full of fun stickers, snacks, and a Safe Computing Plinko game where students answered online safety questions to win prizes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Safe Computing Challenge for Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thousands of students in Ann Arbor, Flint, and Dearborn tested their knowledge with the <a href=\"https:\/\/safecomputing.umich.edu\/challenge\">cybersecurity awareness quiz<\/a> for a chance to win ITS Tech Shop gift cards up to $500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/safecomputing.umich.edu\/events\/sumit\/all\">all Past SUMIT events<\/a> on the Safe Computing website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SUMIT events and outreach in October promoted awareness of IT security at U-M and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194,"featured_media":30513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_umich_oidc_access":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,4],"tags":[61,488,119],"class_list":["post-30512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safe-computing","category-features","tag-ai","tag-cybersecurity","tag-sumit"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora.jpeg",800,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-400x266.jpeg",400,266,true],"medium":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-300x200.jpeg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-767x511.jpeg",665,443,true],"large":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-600x400.jpeg",600,400,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora.jpeg",800,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora.jpeg",800,533,false],"excerpt-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-200x140.jpeg",200,140,true],"themonic-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-60x42.jpeg",60,42,true],"ioslider-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-658x300.jpeg",658,300,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-665x443.jpeg",665,443,true],"400x250-crop":["https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/NikeshArora-400x250.jpeg",400,250,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Bridget Weise Knyal, ITS Office of Privacy","author_link":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/author\/bweise\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"SUMIT events and outreach in October promoted awareness of IT security at U-M and more.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/194"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30512"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30522,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30512\/revisions\/30522"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigan.it.umich.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}