As part of a graduate course in Information Assurance this spring, groups of students at UNM’s Anderson School of Management conducted presentations at local high schools to help raise awareness on protecting information and identity. Students presented a pair of presentations titled “Risk of Joining Social Networks” and “Technology Awareness” at Albuquerque High School, La Cueva High School, Home School Coop and Washington Middle School.
As part of a graduate course in Information Assurance this spring, groups of students at UNM’s Anderson School of Management conducted presentations at local high schools to help raise awareness on protecting information and identity. Students presented a pair of presentations titled “Risk of Joining Social Networks” and “Technology Awareness” at Albuquerque High School, La Cueva High School, Home School Coop and Washington Middle School.
Information Assurance is a new interdisciplinary concentration combining specialized aspects of information systems and accounting.
“It’s never too early to get young people involved in thinking about information,” said Alex Seazzu, UNM Center for Information Assurance Research and Education (CIARE) director. “This is a great opportunity for our students, Anderson and UNM to step into this community role and raise awareness. We look forward to more presentations and expanding the list of topics we review with our local high school and mid-high students.”
UNM students Jessica Dillinger and Zhabiz Edwards presented the ‘Risk of Joining Social Networks.’ The presentation ranged from painting a scenario to receive a monetary gain at the expense of another individual to personal and behavioral information to general Internet Behavior and predators.
Brad Greene and James Martinez presented the workshop on ‘Technology Awareness.’ In their presentation they highlighted to students what they should be aware of regarding proper computer use, identity protection and the vulnerabilities of the technology used today including cell phones and computers.
“The students were very interested, and curious about Information Assurance topics, and practices,” said Greene, who will graduate with a master’s degree in May with a dual concentration in Management Information Systems and Information Assurance. “Information Assurance is a new field, with many unanswered questions. The future of the nation's security and economic prosperity rely on protecting and insuring information integrity and continuity.”
Added Martinez who is in his first year pursuing a master’s in the same fields, “I felt that the presentation went very well. It was important to let the students know that it was not too early to start good practices and that there is a threat out there.”