Fox School of Business Cybersecurity Awareness Workshop
I attended the “Small Business Cybersecurity Awareness Workshop”, an event hosted by Temple University’s IT Auditing and Cybersecurity (ITACS) program. Led by Professor Thu Nguyen and ITACS graduate students, the workshop explained how to identify digital assets and evaluate their risk levels, and apply security measures such as multifactor authentication and encryption. The breakout sessions were the most engaging part of the workshop because they provided a hands-on opportunity to apply the concepts in the context of real small businesses. Participants identified potential vulnerabilities, discussed appropriate security controls, and created short action plans for how a small business might respond to different threats. These exercises helped bridge theory and practice, showing how cybersecurity decisions directly affect day-to-day operations. As someone who manages e-commerce operations for a small business, I saw clear connections between the topics discussed and the systems I work with daily. Understanding how to balance accessibility with data protection gave me a stronger appreciation for how cybersecurity supports both business continuity and customer trust. This experience deepened my understanding of how information systems professionals can strengthen organizations by integrating security awareness into every aspect of digital operations.