GCS Recognized as Champion in Cyber Security
Greenville County Schools is the first K-12 organization in the nation to be recognized as a 2014 National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) Champion. As a Champion, the district is part of a prestigious group of national corporations that are leaders in online security, including Dell, Google, MetLife, Merck, Verizon, Intel Security, and Raytheon.
“Securing the K-12 network is a great challenge due to the many different user devices and the increasing inclusion of Internet material in the classroom,” said Bill Brown, Executive Director of Education Technology Services. “We also face the challenge of finding the most cost-effective ways to guard against increasingly sophisticated cyber security threats to the K-12 network. Greenville County Schools is proud to be a Champion for cyber security by demonstrating our commitment to providing a safe and secure network environment for our students and staff.”
The GCS Information Security program focuses on security awareness and education on the topics of cyberbullying, cyberdangers, and safe technology use. We make age-appropriate presentations that promote general cyber security awareness, digital literacy, and responsible digital citizenry to elementary, middle, and high school students. Specific topics include safe internet use (such as privacy settings, posting your geographic location, speaking with strangers), safe device use, social networking interaction, cyber-bullying, posting of photos, and inappropriate posting.
Department representatives also participate in community events such as Home Run for Kids at the Drive stadium where they provide information on safe technology use to over 1,000 Upstate students.
Parents can visit these sites for additional information: