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European Cybersecurity Month is approaching. Since 2020, GÉANT, the key platform driving research and education in Europe through the provision of infrastructure and services, has supported this initiative with a broad awareness campaign. This year, the main focus is on social engineering, under the slogan "Your Brain is the First Line of Defense."

Cybercriminals use various manipulation techniques to deceive people and obtain confidential information, leveraging psychological principles such as authority, reciprocity, and likability. Social engineers are experts at exploiting these human biases.

With this campaign, GÉANT aims to motivate users to think critically and stay vigilant, always staying one step ahead of cybercriminals. Throughout every Thursday in October, GÉANT will run the #CyberSecMonth 2024 campaign, offering a program of four free webinars on cybersecurity, presented by leading experts from the Research and Education (R&E) community. These online seminars will take place from 15:00 to 16:00 CEST and will cover crucial topics to strengthen digital security in academic institutions.

Dr. Karen Renaud from the University of Strathclyde will present the webinar "Insider Threat Taxonomy and Mitigation Strategies" on October 3. On October 10, Dr. Kristin Weber from the Technische Hochschule Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) will present "How to Sell a Refrigerator to a Penguin: Getting People to Fall for a Phishing Email." On October 17, Professor Luisa Verdoliva from the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II will discuss "Verification of Synthetic Media in the Age of Generative AI: What Works and What's Not Yet Available." Finally, on October 24, Andy Roebuck from GÉANT and Floortje J. from SURF will address "Responsible and Ethical Use of AI: Challenges and Perspectives."

GÉANT and RedCLARA closely collaborate to strengthen a global research and education ecosystem, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and best practices in cybersecurity. This partnership helps enhance the protection of academic and research institutions in Latin America and Europe. To register and learn more about the webinars, visit: https://connect.geant.org/2024/09/20/unveiling-geant-cyber-security-month-webinar-programme-register-today