Cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, and protecting Ohio State’s people, data and technology requires participation from everyone. This October, The Ohio State University is partnering with the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) to offer a month of virtual events designed to help faculty, staff and students strengthen their cybersecurity knowledge and prepare for emerging challenges.
The month-long series will feature cybersecurity leaders, researchers and industry experts discussing topics ranging from artificial intelligence and research security to cybersecurity best practices and emerging technology trends. Participants will gain practical insights they can apply in their work, studies and daily digital lives.
Cybersecurity Month Event Lineup
This year's virtual events include:
OCT. 1: Game Show: Level Up Your Cybersecurity Game!
Big Ten Academic Alliance Cybersecurity Gameshow 2026
Thursday, Oct. 1: 1-2 p.m. ET
Join an online game show to compete against Big Ten rivals in Level UP Your Cyber Game - College Gameday Edition!
In today's world, strong cyber skills are essential, and this is your chance to test them. Get ready for a fast-paced, high-energy game show packed with exciting challenges and strategic dilemmas. You'll not only sharpen your cybersecurity skills but also gain practical tips to protect your digital life long after the final whistle.
IMPORTANT: This session will be hosted by the National Cybersecurity Alliance. A separate registration is required using this link.
SPEAKERS:
Barry Eitel, Editorial Director, Staysafeonline.org
Cliff Steinhauer, Director, Information Security and Engagement, Staysafeonline.org
OCT. 6: How to Survive the AI Apocalypse
Tuesday Oct. 6: 1-2 p.m. EST
It seems that the harder and faster we work, the more there is to do. And now we have AI.
What does this mean for your job today, your longer term career, your ongoing well-being? Join us to consider what the problem really is, ways to approach this problem, and get leave with suggestions for how to manage this for you and your team
SPEAKER:
Helen Patton, Executive Cybersecurity Advisor
OCT. 8: BTAA CISO Panel
Higher education institutions face security challenges that demand thoughtful, coordinated responses across many of our distributed environments. Addressing these challenges effectively requires not only structure and leadership but also a shared understanding of the complexity that underpins our work, all the while meeting the mission of teaching, learning, and research. Our panelists will cover topics related to risk within our organizations, how to build and deliver a strong security awareness program and culture, and where they see the security space evolving to further educate and promote security in higher education.
OCT. 13: The CIS AI Journey
What Worked, What We Adjusted, What We're Still Figuring Out
Tuesday Oct. 13: noon -1 p.m. EST
Most organizations are being asked to adopt AI faster than they can answer basic questions about how to do it safely. At the Center for Internet Security, we chose to build our AI program governance first, before scaling use across the organization. This session walks through that journey candidly, including the questions we got right early, the ones we underestimated, and the places where our first plan needed real adjustment.
Brian Calkin, CIS Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, will share how CIS stood up an AI governance board and a technical subcommittee, deployed enterprise AI tooling to staff, and worked through the security and data questions that surfaced along the way. What data can these tools touch? How do we vet vendors? Who reviews an agent before it acts on its own? How do we keep cost and sprawl under control? The talk focuses on what actually worked, what we changed, and what we are still figuring out.
For higher education, the stakes are distinctive. Research, administrative, and IT environments each carry different data sensitivities and risk tolerances, and scaling AI across all three without a shared governance foundation invites trouble. Attendees will leave with a practical starting framework they can adapt, a set of questions worth answering before broad rollout, and a clear view of the tradeoffs from an organization living them now.
SPEAKER:
Brian Calkin, Chief Technology & Innovation Officer, Center for Internet Security
OCT. 15: Leading Secure AI Adoption in Higher Education
Governance Strategies for an Evolving Threat Landscape
Thursday Oct. 15: 2-3 p.m. EST
Register
As universities rapidly adopt AI, leaders must balance innovation with security, privacy, and compliance. Drawing on experience leading cybersecurity initiatives across government and industry, M. K. Palmore will share practical governance strategies for managing AI risk, strengthening institutional resilience, and aligning cybersecurity with organizational priorities. Attendees will leave with actionable frameworks to support secure AI adoption across higher education.
SPEAKER:
M. K. Palmore, Founder & Principal Advisor, Apogee Global RMS
OCT. 29: Introduction To The Evolving Federal Research Cybersecurity Landscape
The Evolving Federal Research Cybersecurity Landscape and What It Means For University IT Teams
Federal requirements around research cybersecurity are growing quickly, and university IT teams are increasingly the ones expected to put them into practice. This session offers a plain-language introduction to that landscape: what the new requirements are trying to accomplish, where things stand today, and why work that used to live in research compliance offices is showing up in the systems IT teams build and support every day. The conversation pairs a national policy perspective from EDUCAUSE with practical resources from the research security community, plus a look at how IT, security, and research offices can partner effectively.
SPEAKERS:
Jarret Cummings, Senior Advisor for Policy and Government Relations, EDUCAUSE
Mike DiLalo, System Administrator, Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers Health
Carolyn Ellis, Director, Research Cybersecurity and Compliance, Arizona State University
Build AI Skills While Meeting Annual Training Requirements
In addition to Cybersecurity Month events, Ohio State community members can participate in Command Artificial Intelligence Safely, a 90-minute webinar that explores how to use AI responsibly and effectively.
Participants will learn about:
- Protecting sensitive and institutional data
- Selecting university-approved AI tools
- Creating more effective prompts
- Understanding how large language models work
- Recognizing and avoiding risks such as inaccurate information, plagiarism and intellectual property concerns
Completion of the webinar can be applied toward the university's annual cybersecurity awareness requirement (IT16.1.1) for faculty, staff and medical center employees.
Additional Training and Resources
Ohio State offers a variety of cybersecurity and privacy training opportunities throughout the year to help community members meet university policy requirements and build skills related to data protection, privacy and information security.
Unit leaders and security coordinators can also request onboarding sessions, role-based security training and customized awareness presentations for their teams.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month provides an opportunity to learn from experts, strengthen digital habits and better understand the technologies shaping higher education. Whether you're new to cybersecurity or looking to deepen your expertise, the October events offer valuable opportunities to engage with colleagues across Ohio State and the Big Ten.