INFORMATION SECURITY THE TOPIC OF PITT SUMMER WORKSHOP

PITTSBURGH, June 3 -- How to recognize and minimize threats to an organization's computing and communication systems is the topic of an eight-session workshop offered July 7 - 30 by the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.

"It's been said the only totally secure computer is one that is never turned on," said Mike Bright, chief instructor for the course. "Once you use that machine, you have risks. But what is a more serious threat to your organization, the 14-year-old hacker on the Internet or mistakes by your own employees?"

The workshop, which also will be taught by professionals from the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), will show participants how to identify existing vulnerabilities in their computing and communication infrastructure; create a comprehensive, consistent, layered approach to protecting assets, and ensure that everyone in the organization understands and supports existing security policies.

"The course is designed primarily for security and information technology professionals, with technical employees and technical managers benefiting most," said Bright. "Participants will learn how to determine their risks and develop appropriate policies and technical solutions for dealing with them."

Offered evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. in the School of Information Sciences Building on Pitt's Oakland campus, the course covers the following topics:

• July 7: Threats and vulnerabilities, information warfare

• July 9: Security engineering, policy models

• July 14: Security standards, legal and ethical issues

• July 16: Critical infrastructure security, encryption, firewalls

• July 21: System level security - PCs, Unix, NT

• July 23: Application security - Web, E-mail, database application development

• July 28: Incident response mechanisms, security auditing

• July 30: Business continuance planning, survivability

The sessions center on lecture, case studies and class discussion, with three lab sessions for hands-on experience with various tools and techniques.

The School of Information Sciences (SIS) at Pitt is the largest and most diversified school of its kind, with more than 700 students enrolled in six degree programs at the undergraduate or graduate levels.

The School of Information Sciences Building is at 135 N. Bellefield Avenue.

For more information about the security workshop, call 412-624-9460.

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