Awareness Campaigns
Raise information security and data privacy awareness on campus with these resources and toolkits.
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month | Campus Security Awareness Campaign | Data Privacy Day
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) is a collaborative effort to ensure everyone has the resources they need to stay safe online. NCSAM is spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA).
EDUCAUSE and the higher ed information security community participate in the annual campaign each October, joining forces with a range of organizations to expand cybersecurity awareness and education on campuses around the globe.
Ten Things You Can Do to Prepare for NCSAM 2019 (October 1-31)
- Become a NCSAM Champion. It's free and easy to sign up online. Join your peers and be recognized on NCSA's website.
- Use the hashtags #BeCyberSmart and #CyberAware on social media throughout the year.
- Download free promo materials from NCSA, including logos, sample social media posts, memes, infographics, and more. STOP.THINK.CONNECT. also offers free resources.
- Learn how to get more involved and make a difference this October and year round.
- Provide a call to action with the 2019 overarching theme: Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT. (Note: This theme replaces the weekly themes from previous years.)
- Use our 8-question NCSAM Planning Guide worksheet (available in the NCSAM Resource Kit) to start planning your events or activities.
- Find free resources in our Cybersecurity Awareness Resource Library or search for potential guest speakers in our Speakers Bureau.
- Align your October events by designating them as a "NCSAM Partner Event" and submit your event to NCSA's community calendar.
- Announce the 16th anniversary of NCSAM in a campus newsletter, blog, or student paper. Consider using sample text from our Security Awareness Campaign materials for that month — October 2019: The IT Team Can't Do It Alone—Cybersecurity Is Everyone's Responsibility.
- Register for the free October 8 EDUCAUSE Live! webinar, "Influencing a Security Culture: From Community College to Ivy League" with Trisha Clay (Hudson County Community College) and David Sherry (Princeton University).
Learn about Texas A&M's successful cybersecurity awareness campaigns for students.
Information Security Guide Resources
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Compilation of cybersecurity awareness resources for colleges and universities to use or adapt |
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A guide for campuses just getting started with an information security awareness program |
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A guide for campuses with an existing program that may be able to dedicate more time and resources to developing their own materials |
Year-Round Campus Security Awareness Campaign

The Campus Security Awareness Campaign is a framework created by the HEISC Awareness and Training Community Group that is designed to support security professionals and IT communicators year-round as they develop or enhance their own security awareness plans. Each year, the campaign includes 12 Security Matters column blog posts on monthly topics with ready-made content for your campus communication channels.
How to Use the Campaign Materials
The campaign provides monthly security awareness topics that information security professionals and IT communicators can integrate into campus communications. Using the additional ready-made content below, you can create a steady stream of privacy and security awareness information for students, faculty, and staff. Adapt the content to make it work with your current plans and campus needs—promote each suggested topic monthly or use a 90-day awareness plan to promote a group of topics quarterly.
Campus Security Awareness Blogs
Each blog is written with end users in mind so you can quickly and easily adapt content for your campus awareness program, whether it’s using the pre-written content for a blog, newsletter, website, or social media. Additional resources including posters, videos, and external references are also provided.
2019 Blogs
- January 2019: Data Privacy in an Era of Compliance
- February 2019: How to Use Social Media for Good—Safely Creating a Positive Presence Online
- March 2019: Take Control of Your Personal Info to Help Prevent Identity Theft
- April 2019: Whaling, SMiShing, and Vishing…Oh My!
- May 2019: 2FA—Control in the Palm of Your Hand
- June 2019: Cryptocurrencies—Look Before You Leap!
- July 2019: Keeping Tabs on Mobile Devices
- August 2019: Understanding the Basics of Online Safety and Security
- September 2019: Information Security To Go!
- October 2019: The IT Team Can’t Do It Alone—Cybersecurity Is Everyone’s Responsibility
- November 2019: How Can Higher Ed Better Prepare Cybersecurity Students for a Hot Job Market?
- December 2019: Get Smart! Mitigating Risks in Connected Devices
Check out the 2018, 2017, and 2016 blogs for more ideas and ready-made content!
Use Twitter in Your Security Awareness Communications
- Set context for how your campus is celebrating the monthly or quarterly topics. Use a consistent hashtag for each month or for the entire year. Ex. Learn how to protect your online privacy this January. Follow our @OurCollegeName #Privacy tweets for tips throughout the month.
- Consider Tweets that start a conversation and be prepared to respond. For example, “Online gaming, shopping, and surfing put you at risk. Have a #Privacy question? We want to help you protect yourself. ASK AWAY!”
- Share tips on the monthly security awareness topic on a regular basis. Pick a day of the week to share tips or spread them out. Help set expectations by including hashtags like #CyberSelfDefense #Friday.
- Point to additional resources with more information. (Consider linking to the SANS Security Awareness Tip of the Day.)
- Host a Twitter Chat or participate in the #ChatSTC Twitter chats.
- Follow the Twitter feeds of other information security departments for ideas, including: RIT Info Sec and ISG @ Brown.
Data Privacy Day | January 28, 2019
EDUCAUSE celebrates Data Privacy Day on January 28 in partnership with the National Cyber Security Alliance and many other Data Privacy Day Champions. Every year we encourage the higher education community to use NCSA's free resources and promotional tools to help ensure our campus communities are respecting privacy, safeguarding data, and enabling trust.
2019 Data Privacy Day Events and Resources
- Welcome to Data Privacy Month 2019! guest blog by Valerie Vogel
- EDUCAUSE Live! webinar with Elana Zeide (PULSE Fellow in Artificial Intelligence, Law & Policy, UCLA) — Artificial Intelligence in Education: Legal Considerations and Ethical Questions (event recording, transcript, and additional suggested resources available)
- Watch recorded sessions from the National Cyber Security Alliance’s 2019 Data Privacy Day event, streamed live from LinkedIn on January 28.
2018 Data Privacy Day Events and Resources
- EDUCAUSE Live! webinar with Kathleen Styles and Benjamin Ferraro (U.S. Department of Education) — Student Privacy in Higher Education: What’s Next? (event recording, transcript, and slides available)
- Watch recorded sessions from the National Cyber Security Alliance's 2018 Data Privacy Day event, streamed live from LinkedIn on January 25.
- Read guest blogs on privacy in the Security Matters column (published in January and February 2018).
- Welcome to Data Privacy Month 2018! by Joanna Grama
- Data Privacy and Security: An Important Partnership by Matthew Cesari and Gary Miller
- Privacy Laws Protecting Student Data by Amelia Vance
- Did You Hear the One About the Privacy Officer Who Walked into an Elevator? by Lisa Ho
- Is the EU GDPR Your Next Business Enabler? by Katelyn Ilkani