Oct. 28, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Dakota State University.

Dakota State University CybHER program and its members play an integral role in cybersecurity outreach and awareness.

“The general theme is to be very aware of what information you are sharing with people on the internet,” said Kanthi Narukonda, director of the CybHER Institute. “Once it’s out there, it’s never gone.”

CybHER’s mission is to empower, motivate and educate in the field of cybersecurity while also changing the perception of girls and women in cybersecurity. CybHER’s outreach events and educational resources align well with the ongoing efforts of Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

In 2004, a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance led to the launch of Cybersecurity Awareness Month each October.

The month of awareness is an effort to reach consumers, businesses large and small, corporations and educational institutions. Today, the effort is co-led by the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency.

CybHER’s outreach efforts are not limited to a specific age group; the organization’s members develop content for children as young as kindergarten through to older adults.

“How we do outreach, especially with different age groups, becomes a little challenging,” Narukonda said.

She leads a team of eight undergraduate and graduate students who serve as CybHER leaders, helping develop content and lead outreach events.

They often start with basics such as using social media accounts, not sharing personal information online, not accepting friend requests from strangers and not posting photos with a lot of identifying information.

A highlight that’s often a surprise to high school students? Snapchat photos, videos and messages can be recovered.

“A lot of people believe that messages on Snapchat can’t be recovered, but that’s not true,” Narukonda said. “So we want them to be aware of the dangers of sharing things that they shouldn’t be.”

Another talking point focuses on how others contribute to an individual’s digital footprint whenever they share a photo, news or other updates about the individual.

CybHER also speaks to parents about risks to be aware of, threats that exist and the applications their children may be using.

For the elderly, talks include privacy settings, not clicking on unknown links and websites, and not sharing too much information.

CybHER leader Catherine Hoier enjoys introducing students to lessons that showcase the importance of cybersecurity, noting that these lessons help students understand concepts such as the need for strong passwords.

Hoier sometimes shows students just how quickly a bad actor can gain access to accounts through an easy password by cracking them in a matter of milliseconds.

“That’s why I like the show, don’t tell, aspect of our lessons,” Hoier said.

CybHER leader Paige Phinney echoed this, noting that she enjoys teaching people about online safety so they walk away with something new.

But cybersecurity awareness isn’t limited to just individuals — it’s an important topic for businesses and organizations and their employees to know.

“You need to take measures to protect yourself and your customers and client information,” Narukonda said.

This can include credit card numbers, and client and customer identifying information such as phone numbers, addresses and emails.

“You need to train your employees so they don’t click on any suspicious links, have secure passwords and lock your computers,” Phinney said.

While there are plenty of paid cybersecurity training products for businesses, there are also just as many free resources. YouTube videos, newsletters and government organizations have tutorials, blogs and the latest news about emerging threats and trends in cybersecurity.

The CybHER website also includes links to other cybersecurity resources and tools.

CybHER has a YouTube channel featuring videos covering a variety of cybersecurity topics, including short explanation videos about different terms and job positions.

“Another series that I’m especially proud of is CybHER Conversations,” Narukonda said.

While CybHER Conversations are less resource-oriented, the videos feature female cybersecurity experts sharing what their roles are like, what working in the field is like and how they got their jobs.

Narukonda, Hoier and Phinney’s parting advice for businesses and organizations alike is to keep software updated and enable multifactor authentication. And if a hack occurs, report the crime.