Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign News
On This Page:
- Stop.Think.Connect. – Miami Events, January 23-26, 2012
- Secretary Napolitano Announces Stop.Think.Connect.
Campaign Partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America - Protect Your Kids from Cyber Predators
- Stop. Think. Connect. Campaign Teams Up With D.A.R.E America
- Protect Yourself Against Social Engineering Attacks
- Do You Know Who Your True “Friends” Are?
- Stop. Think. Connect. PSA Video Challenge Winners Announced
- Be Smart with Your Smartphone’s Security
- Keeping Children and Teens Safe Online: June is National Internet Safety Month
- Campaign Launches Just One Initiative
- PSA Challenge Closes
- Beware of Osama Bin Laden Email Phishing Schemes
- Protecting Your Identity During Tax Season
Stop.Think.Connect. – Miami Events, January 23-26, 2012
Stop.Think.Connect. – Miami invites all South Floridians to help raise awareness and dialogue about the cybersecurity issues facing the Miami community. See below for a list of events in which DHS representatives will be participating.
MONDAY, JANUARY 23
Stop.Think.Connect. – Miami Kickoff Event with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Mayor Gimenez will sign a proclamation recognizing the importance of cybersecurity awareness, and DHS Assistant Secretary Greg Schaffer will be joined by local business leaders and government officials for a roundtable discussion.
United States Secret Service Field Office
10350 NW 112th Ave.
Medley, Fla.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24
Key Biscayne Online Safety Resource Session for Seniors
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
The Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce will host a forum for seniors, in which DHS representatives will be on hand to provide information to help older Americans understand, guard against, and respond to online threats.
Key Biscayne Village Hall
88 W. McIntyre St.
Key Biscayne, Fla.
Key Biscayne Small Business Cybersecurity Resource Session
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
The Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce will host a forum for small business owners, in which DHS representatives will be on hand to provide information to help small business owners understand, guard against, and respond to online threats.
Key Biscayne Village Hall
88 W. McIntyre St.
Key Biscayne, Fla.
Key Biscayne Online Safety Resource Session for Families
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
The Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce will host a forum for South Florida families, in which DHS representatives will be on hand to provide information about what parents and kids can do to stay safe online. Join the discussion to get information on how to keep your family safe from growing online threats and learn tips for starting an Internet safety dialogue with your children.
Key Biscayne Village Hall
88 W. McIntyre St.
Key Biscayne, Fla.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25
Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce: Cybersecurity & Your Small Business
8:30 am to 10:00 am
The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce will host a forum for area businesses, in which DHS cybersecurity representatives will provide information and answer questions to help small business owners understand, guard against, and respond to online threats.
Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce
1920 Meridian Ave.
Miami Beach, Fla.
General Cybersecurity Awareness Session at Nova Southeastern University
4:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Hosted by Nova Southeastern University, the General Cyber Awareness Session will bring together all members of the broader NSU and South Florida communities – including students, faculty, local government representatives, local business leaders and employees and members of the public – to discuss relevant issues affecting Americans in cyberspace, with particular attention paid to online threats such as identity theft, phishing, fraud, and ethics.
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Fla.
Cyber Careers Session at Nova Southeastern University
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Hosted by Nova Southeastern University, representatives from DHS, industry, and academia will be there to address the types of cybersecurity jobs available and the educational background needed for those careers.
Nova Southeastern University
Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Fla.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 26
D.A.R.E. America Cybersecurity Rally
9:30 am – 10:30 am
Stop.Think.Connect. and campaign partner D.A.R.E. America will host a rally on safe online behavior for South Florida D.A.R.E. members, including students, teachers, and parents at Ponce de Leon Middle School. DHS representatives and local law enforcement officers will share tips and highlight resources on how to stay safe from growing online threats.
Ponce de Leon Middle School
Coral Gables, Fla.
YWCA Student Cybersecurity Discussion
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Stop.Think.Connect. and campaign partner YWCA will present a cybersecurity event for students and parents. Age-appropriate discussions will touch on identity theft, fraud and phishing, and cyber ethics to help children and teens understand cyber risks and how to protect themselves online.
Location TBD
For more information on any of the above events, please contact the Stop.Think.Connect. campaign at stopthinkconnect@dhs.gov.
Secretary Napolitano Announces Stop.Think.Connect.
Campaign Partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America
August 26, 2011- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Stop.Think.Connect.™ campaign today announced a new partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, which serves nearly four million young people from across the country. The campaign will provide Boys & Girls Club with tools and resources to help raise awareness among teens, young adults and parents about the importance of cybersecurity and online safety.
Read the full press release.
Protect Your Kids from Cyber Predators
August 9, 2011 - Cyber predators are real. They use the anonymity of the Internet to target victims, especially today’s youth, with unwanted solicitations, harassment, and fraud. It’s important that parents discuss ways to stay safe online with their children, particularly before they use social networking sites.
Read the Protect Your Kids from Cyber Predators blog post.
Stop. Think. Connect. Campaign Teams Up With D.A.R.E America
July 26, 2011 - Today, the DHS Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign announced a new partnership with Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) America to protect millions of children from online threats by encouraging internet safety.
Read the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign Teams Up With D.A.R.E. America blog post.
Protect Yourself Against Social Engineering Attacks
July 12, 2011 - Recently there's been a reported rise in the number of cyber incidents suspected to be the result of social engineering, a tactic which involves approaching an individual, either online or in person, and manipulating them into providing personal information that can be used to break into a computer network or assume someone's identity.
Read the Protect Yourself Against Social Engineering Attacks blog post.
Do You Know Who Your True “Friends” Are?
June 30, 2011 - More than half of all Americans have accounts on one or more social network like Facebook, Twitter or MySpace. Even here at DHS we are using social media to share information and engage with the public.
While social media is a great way to communicate and share information with friends and family, there are real dangers from hackers and cyber criminals. A stranger online should be treated in the same way as a stranger in real life. Unfamiliar "friends" or connections on social networks are not likely your true friends. Worse, they could be ill-intentioned people who use social networking sites to target or collect personal information.
Read the Do You Know Who Your True “Friends” Are? blog post.
Stop. Think. Connect. PSA Video Challenge Winners Announced
June 27, 2011 - In an event held today at the White House, Secretary Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard A. Schmidt recognized the winners of the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign’s Public Service Announcement (PSA) and also announced the launch of a new Stop.Think.Connect website.
Read the Stop. Think. Connect. PSA Video Challenge Winners Announced blog post.
Be Smart with Your Smartphone’s Security
June 16, 2011 - Smartphones and other mobile devices have transformed our use of the Internet, which now touches nearly every aspect of our lives. Nearly half of all Americans are expected to own a mobile device by the end of this year. While these tools provide users with convenient access to information and communications, they also carry risk.
Mobile users have recently captured the attention of cyber criminals who seek to take advantage of everyday citizens. In fact, experts predict that within three years, smartphones and mobile devices will surpass computers as the primary target for cyber crime. If a hacker can gain access to a mobile device, they can easily find e-mail addresses, stored passwords, banking information, social media accounts, and phone numbers - allowing them to steal your information, your money, and even your identity. That's why practicing good cyber habits is so important.
Read the Be Smart with Your Smartphone's Security blog post.
Keeping Children and Teens Safe Online: June is National Internet Safety Month
June 6, 2011- June is National Internet Safety Month. With the school year ending, kids will be spending more time online. In fact, according to the National Cyber Security Alliance, children and teens aged 8-18 spend an average of 7 and a half hours each day during the summer with electronic devices - where they may be vulnerable to cyber bulling, cyber predators, and other criminal activity. To ensure a safe cyber environment, each of us plays a part.
Read the Keeping Children and Teens Safe Online blog post.
Campaign Launches Just One Initiative
June 1, 2011 - The Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign is pleased to announce the launch of its Just One Initiative.The Just One Initiative is designed to build upon the successes of the more than 8,000 of you who have joined the Campaign as Friends since its launch in October 2010. As a result of your diligent efforts over the past eight months, the Campaign has been able to promote and raise awareness across the country about cybersecurity and safe online habits that will not only help protect you and your family, but also the national and economic security interests of our nation.
Friends across the country have collectively hosted over 15 Cyber Citizen Forums, submitted creative Public Service Announcement (PSA) Challenge video entries, and enlisted both public and private sector support for the Stop.Think.Connect. message. If you, as Friends, were able to collectively achieve these great feats at 8,000-strong, just imagine what can be accomplished if our group doubled in size to 16,000-strong.
Today, the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign is asking you to help make that possibility a reality by enlisting just one additional individual to join our Campaign as a Friend. When recruiting individuals, please explain that there is no better way to contribute to our shared responsibility to secure cyberspace than by spreading the Stop.Think.Connect. message to your colleagues, friends, and family as a Friend of the Campaign.
We ask that you encourage anyone interested in joining our effort to visit the Friends of the Campaign page at www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect. By encouraging just one individual to join the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign, we together can help ensure that cyberspace is a safer environment for generations of Americans to come.
PSA Challenge Closes
May 31, 2011 - The PSA Challenge closes today. Stop.Think.Connect. thanks everyone for their participation. Please check back more information on the winners.
Beware of Osama Bin Laden Email Phishing Schemes
May 4, 2011 - Hackers have already figured out a way to capitalize on the death of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to infect people's computers with viruses by offering up images of his dead body, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned Tuesday. The warning was part of the DHS Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign, which is aimed at reminding people to be aware of the dangers that exist when they use the Internet.
Read the Beware of Osama Bin Laden Email Phishing Schemes blog post.
Protecting Your Identity During Tax Season
April 6, 2011 - April is upon us, which means the deadline for filing your federal taxes is fast approaching. It’s also a time to ensure you’re properly safeguarding your identity and personal financial information. Every year, millions of Americans fall victim to identity theft, and scams and phishing schemes are particularly prevalent during tax season.
Read the Protecting Your Identity During Tax Season blog post.
This page was last reviewed / modified on January 19, 2012.