Social Credit- Why should it matter?

Cybercrime is relentless, undiminished, and unlikely to stop. As we become increasingly more connected, committing cybercrime becomes easier and more rewarding.  We are asking for your help in addressing this problem by raising cybersecurity awareness through participation in and support of our Cybersecurity and Awareness Fair.

This year’s fair is focused on Social Credit, inspired by China’s ‘Once Untrustworthy, Always Restricted’ Social Credit System. According to the Supreme People’s Court of China, 6 million Chinese citizens had already been banned from airplane flights for social misdeeds in early 2017; this number will only grow. How does this apply to cybersecurity? We have Internet-connected devices in our homes, cars, pockets, and even on our wrists – the data gathered by these devices is used to build a profile of the user that can be abused – not only by hackers, but even by the companies compiling the data. What happens when your DNA test or sequencing results are associated with your online identity? We will highlight these concepts along with traditional security issues like social engineering, phishing, and wireless hacking during our fair. Additionally, we are proud to be holding our fourth annual Cybersecurity & Forensics Research Poster Competition. Last year’s winner was from Fullerton College. In addition, the exhibit table cost is now an annual budget line item for Chaffey Colleges CIS department. It is these partnerships that make this program successful.

We have two new exciting additions to this year’s fair. First, we will be a holding a recruiting opportunity for our sponsors.  The volunteers working on our event will have time after the event for discussion and interview opportunities with our sponsors.  This private networking event will be held from 3:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. on the day of the event. Our other addition to this year’s fair is the inclusion of a new financial prize for a Cal Poly Student that participates in the fair. This prize is a chance for a student to learn by doing in support of the event.