James Morrison with the FBI's Houston Division shares information about computer security during his presentation Oct. 7.

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. In its ongoing effort to educate faculty, staff and students about issues involving computer security, the Information Technology department sponsored a seminar Oct. 7 featuring James Morrison with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Houston Cyber Task Force.

In his "Cyber Threats to Universities and Individuals" presentation, Morrison shared knowledge about how cyber attacks start and how they can affect computers at work, school and home. The Special Events Center was filled to capacity with an attentive mix of faculty, staff and students.

Morrison suggested that computer users observe the following safe computing practices:

• Turn off your computer when it is not in use.
• Restore your computer to its factory settings every year.
• Do not install or allow your children to install peer-to-peer software such as Torrent.
• Consider using web browsers other than Internet Explorer.

Morrison has more than 25 years of IT experience, including 17 years with the FBI. He assists in computer intrusion investigations and conducts reverse engineering of software to determine sources and purposes of malignant code.

For more information, contact Jon Garza, information security and compliance officer, at garzaj@uhd.edu or 713-221-8950.