Penn College Aims to Raise Level of 'Cyber Security Awareness'

From background checks to forensic accounting, a variety of informative topics will be discussed at Pennsylvania College of Technology in the coming weeks to mark October's designation as National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

"Cyber security is a topic that concerns everyone. We need to take steps to provide a secure online environment for ourselves," said Lisa R. Bock, instructor of computer information technology and event organizer. "However, our programs also cover personal issues like identity theft and background checks. Our educational topics are designed to cover a broad range of subjects that will be of interest to students and employees, as well as local business."

"We are very excited about partnering with various college offices and area businesses to offer these additional learning opportunities for our students, faculty and staff. Security-related issues reach across many of the majors within the School of Business and Computer Technologies, and we tried to design the seminar series to reflect that diversity," commented Edward A. Henninger, dean of the school.

• Security Clearances and Background Checks 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20; Penn's Inn (CC, second floor) Hosted by the college's ACM Computer Club, the presentation will feature FBI Agent Billy Ebersole, who will discuss security clearances, and Judy Krezmer from DePasquale Staffing Services, who will explain industry's growing use of background checks for prospective employees.

• Hiding in Plain Sight eCrime and Steganography 3:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2; PDC Mountain Laurel Room Penn College and WetStone Technologies Inc., Cortland, N.Y., will co-sponsor a discussion of the latest threats posed by steganography (using technology to hide messages within digital files).
• Forensic Accounting 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11; SASC Presentation Room Annmarie M. Tyler, special agent, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations Unit, will share her knowledge of criminal tax violations, money-laundering, Bank Secrecy Act violations and other financially motivated crimes.
• Health-Care Compliance and Identity Theft 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18; Madigan Library Monica Turri, compliance officer, Susquehanna Health, will discuss health-care compliance, and Karen Orwan, security officer for Omega Bank, will discuss identify theft.

Light refreshments will be served at all of the programs.

In addition to the informative presentations, the school will sponsor a student poster contest that explains computer-security problems and actions that individuals can take to protect their personal information. The posters, along with other relevant information, will be displayed in the Madigan Library. A Web site also will be set up to display students' short films about computer security including a national award-winning effort by Penn College students.

For more about the School of Business and Computer Technologies, visit on the Web or call (570) 327-4517.

For general information about Penn College, visit online , send e-mail or call toll-free (800) 367-9222.