Since 2004, the President of the United States and Congress have declared October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CAM), with the goal of helping individuals protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent across education, healthcare, business, government, research, and everyday consumer applications, with organizations using AI to automate tasks, analyze large amounts of data, improve decision-making, and increase productivity.
However, the widespread use of AI introduces significant security concerns, including the exposure of sensitive or confidential information through AI systems, unauthorized access to AI tools, data leakage, inaccurate or manipulated outputs, and the potential for attackers to use AI to create more convincing phishing messages, social engineering attacks, malware, and other threats. Organizations must also consider risks associated with third-party AI services, inadequate access controls, privacy, intellectual property, and the difficulty of determining how AI systems use and retain submitted data.
As AI adoption continues to expand, effective security requires a combination of appropriate policies, user awareness and training, technical safeguards, access controls, data protection, and ongoing monitoring of AI-related risks.
The University of California Cybersecurity Awareness Month (UCCAM) is a collaborative effort between most UC locations to provide a month of events that will help you stay cyber aware. The following events are hosted by UCSB:
AI Vulnerability Scanning in the Age of Mythos
- Thursday, October 8 from 12-1pm
- Presented by Christopher Kruegel, UCSB Computer Science Professor and Vice Chair
- Register here
From Extortion to Espionage: The Frontline Threat Landscape for Higher Education
- Thursday, October 15 from 12-1pm
- Presented by Jeremy Rosado, Senior Intelligence Analyst, Google Threat Intelligence Group
- Register here
AI and Privacy
- Wednesday, October 21 from 12-1pm
- Presented by Reema Moussa, Associate at Goodwin law firm
- Register here
Full Access – In-Person Tabletop Exercise (Sponsored by Rubrik)
- Friday, October 23 from 9am - 3pm
- Mosher Alumni House
- Register here
Secure UCSB: Protecting Our Campus in the Age of Evolving Threats and AI
- Wednesday, October 28 from 12-1pm
- Presented by Jackson Muhirwe and Jennifer Mehl, UCSB Information Security leaders
- Register here
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