Computer Security Awareness


Student Researchers: Alicia Coon, Ometere (Tuté) Ehinlaiye, Melissa Karolewski, Sarai Raffensperger
Advisor: Dr. Rose Shumba

Overview

The goal of this project was to enhance the public's understanding and acceptance of information security issues through awareness and education. The project involved investigating on the current computer security practices and techniques and hosting security awareness workshops at IUP.

Activities of 2004-2005
  • A presentation entitled "Is Your Home Computer Safe" in April 2005. The presentation was done as part of the Natural Sciences Science Festival. A total of over 100 High School students attended the presentation. The student evaluations for the presentation were very positive and encouraging.

Activities of 2005-2006

  • A poster was accepted and presented at the 2006 Grace Hooper Conference to held October 4-7, 2006 in San Diego. Click link to view a picture: Grace Hopper Poster Session

  • Alicia, Melissa, & Tuté visited Slippery Rock University of PA on the September 21,2006 to talk about their experiences with undergraduate research. Lindsey and Tamara also accompanied the group.
  • A poster based on the work from Computer Security Awareness paper was presented at the IUP Undergraduate Scholars Conference on April 4, 2006 and the IUP Women in Science Technical Poster Session organized by the College of Natural Science on April 9, 2006.

  • A paper, outlining the most commonly used tools and practices for home computer protection and the results of a questionnaire from 2004 – 2005 was presented at the 21st Annual PACISE conference held at IUP on April 7, 2006. Alicia Coon, Tuté Ehinlaiye, and Melissa Karolewski presented the paper.

Abstract

Home computer security is often a neglected area of security. In the Fall of 2004, with funding from the ACM CREU (Collaborative Research Experience for Undergraduates in Science and Engineering) program, a project on home computer security was started. The goal of the project was to enhance the public’s understanding and acceptance of information security issues through awareness and education. The project consisted of three phases: the identification of currently used practices for computer security, an evaluation of the practices and then a public awareness and education outreach program on the importance and relevance of computer security. Through a questionnaire survey, currently used practices for home security were collected and analyzed. The target population was the IUP student community. During the identification phase, a questionnaire was administered to random IUP classes. From the results of the survey, a list of the best of breed security tools were identified and reviewed. During the last phase, the research was presented to three groups of high school students during the 2005 Natural Science’s Science Festival.