EMC Supports National Cyber Security Awareness Month With Global Outreach Campaign

HOPKINTON, Mass., Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

News Highlights:

• EMC supports National Cyber Security Awareness Month for sixth consecutive year with educational events and activities to help promote safe use of the Web at work, home and school
• Hundreds of EMC employee volunteers in 17 countries teach thousands of school-age children about safe and responsible Internet use
• RSA, The Security Division of EMC has partnered with Radio Disney to deliver action-packed educational sessions on cyber security awareness and digital responsibility
• RSA Executive Chairman Art Coviello testifies on Capitol Hill Oct. 4 before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee
• EMC will offer free training kits for small and medium businesses to help them defend against employee-targeted cyber crime
• EMC reaches out to its more than 50,000 employees worldwide to reinforce ongoing cyber security training programs with live events and testing, including an internal spear-phishing campaign

EMC (NYSE: EMC) today announced the launch of its annual campaign to support National Cyber Security Awareness Month, kicking off employee and corporate involvement in dozens of national and international activities and events designed to educate students, businesses, and EMC's own employees on cyber security awareness and digital responsibility.

Taking place every October since 2003, National Cyber Security Awareness Month is a coordinated effort of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) and myriad companies, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation focused on improving online safety and security awareness and education for citizens and businesses. In 2010 the NCSA, working in partnership with private industry, reached an estimated 100 million people to promote online safety during the month of October.  

In October 2011, EMC and its RSA Security Division will again contribute to National Cyber Security Awareness Month through the launch of a month of volunteerism and outreach to schools and the small business community. Employee volunteers will work with schools, youth groups and small business associations throughout the U.S. and abroad to help educate the public about key online safety and digital responsibility issues including:

• Phishing and spear-phishing
• Malware
• Employee-targeted cybercrime
• Cyber bullying
• Social network safety
• Mobile device safety

Following is a partial list of activities and events EMC will sponsor and/or participate in during National Cyber Security Awareness Month:

• Hundreds of EMC employee volunteers in 17 countries and 21 states will dedicate a half day of volunteer service in October to teach school-age children safe and responsible internet use via the Cyber Security Awareness Volunteer Education project (C-SAVE)
• The RSA Security Division has partnered with Radio Disney to deliver action-packed educational sessions on cyber security awareness and digital responsibility at 20 Middle Schools in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut
• RSA Executive Chairman Art Coviello will testify on Capitol Hill Oct. 4 before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee to urge lawmakers to consider policy changes designed to aid in the protection of U.S. critical infrastructure and other business interests
• EMC and NCSA will hold an Oct. 4 reception in Washington, DC with industry, government and lawmakers to celebrate National Cyber Security Awareness Month
• EMC will offer free employee cyber security training kits designed exclusively for small and medium businesses to help them stand a better chance defending against employee-targeted cyber crime, which is currently on the rise
• EMC is leveraging National Cyber Security Awareness Month to elevate the internal visibility of its long-running secure practices initiatives. For example, EMC's Product Security Office is engaging 10,000 EMC product engineers to promote the practices the company uses to standardize secure product development across all of EMC's hardware and software engineering teams and worldwide EMC Centers of Excellence. As with prior years, EMC's Global Security Office is reaching out to all 50,000 EMC employees worldwide with internal communications, live events and awareness activities to administer advanced cyber security training and testing, including an internal phishing campaign on EMC employees.
• EMC is a Silver Sponsor of the October 7 Michigan Cyber Summit in Ypsilanti, MI with Governor Rick Snyder, leaders from DHS and others.
• EMC is a Gold Sponsor of the Maryland Cyber Challenge and Conference being held Oct. 20-21 in Baltimore, a non-profit event bringing together Maryland's best minds to advance the critical field of cyber security across the public, private and academic sectors.
• EMC will promote cyber security awareness via local and international print, broadcast and social media campaigns

Supporting Quotes

Tom Heiser, President, RSA, The Security Division of EMC

• "EMC plays a major role in the global economy in which more than two-thirds of all business is done online. We not only provide the infrastructure to organizations doing business globally, we also share a responsibility in helping to make it safer for everyone – especially children – to connect, learn and have fun without fear of being a victim of cyber crime. EMC is a proud supporter of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and we encourage our partners and customers to join us to take part in this vital public awareness campaign alongside NCSA and its active members."

Dave Martin, Chief Security Officer, EMC Global Security Office

• "The cyber threat landscape evolves so rapidly that even the most security-conscious organizations must be continually trained and educated about the myriad attacks which target organizations and their employees every day. We have a responsibility as security professionals to not only keep our own employees updated, trained and tested on the latest cyber threats, but to also help educate children and consumers and aid in developing a more security-savvy workforce."

Michael Kaiser, Executive Director, National Cyber Security Alliance

• "National Cyber Security Awareness Month continues to grow stronger every year in our effort to raise awareness for a very simple but powerful message: It's our shared responsibility to protect the Internet and our digital assets. The wide-array of participation – from industry, federal, state and local government and nonprofit organizations – speaks volumes about the commitment from various communities in making the Internet more safe and secure."

John Havermann, President, NCSA Board of Directors and EMC Federal Office Senior Account Manager

• "With cyber attacks on the increase, it's important that Internet users better understand how to protect their sensitive information online, whether they are at work or at home. We are pleased that the nationwide effort to increase cyber security education and awareness continues to gain momentum, particularly as advanced cyber threats become more commonplace and users' traditional information security defenses are challenged."

EMC and NCSA encourage all audiences – teachers, employers, families, consumers, and more – to visit the National Cyber Security Awareness Month Web portal to get more information about how to get involved, events, and additional resources to help organizations and individuals participate in the public awareness and education campaign. Please visit: www.staysafeonline.org.

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing.  Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way.   Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

SOURCE EMC Corporation