October is recognised as Cybersecurity Awareness Month, with the theme “Don’t Make It Easy for Them.” As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Office of the Chief Information Officer organised and delivered its annual Security Champion Challenge, the CYBERWISE cybersecurity session, and its monthly security tip.

Verify: AI Can Help. AI Can Fool.

This month’s security tip outlined how artificial intelligence can both help and deceive. AI tools can save time and support our work, but criminals are using the same technology to create convincing scams. The poster highlights six areas: generative AI, which creates text, images, audio and video; AI-generated phishing emails that read naturally and are harder to spot; deepfakes, which are fake but realistic videos or images of real people; voice cloning, which copies the sound of someone’s voice; executive impersonation, where a scammer poses as a senior leader to pressure staff into acting; and AI privacy, which means being careful about what information is entered into AI tools. Its central message is that familiar names, voices, images and writing styles can all be copied. For unusual or high-risk requests, such as a sudden payment or a request for sensitive information, staff should confirm through a separate, trusted channel, such as calling the person on a number they already have, rather than replying to the original message.

Security Champion Challenge

This year’s Security Champion Challenge featured three weekly challenges held from October 14 to 30, 2026: Cyber Scramble, Myth Busters, and the Cyber Hygiene Quiz. Winners were announced and awarded prizes at the end of each week. The Office of the University Chief Information Officer emailed staff each week with the challenge type and a link to the challenge. Participants and weekly winners earned a digital badge- Cyber Sleuth, Myth Buster, or Cyber Guardian- after each challenge for their effort.

Digital Badges

The Security Champion Challenge gave staff hands-on ways to test their cybersecurity knowledge during the month. Cyber Scramble was a challenge that required players to unscramble twenty-two cybersecurity-related words. Twenty staff members took part in the Cyber Scramble and finished with an average score of 41.1 out of 44. The top three winners were Simone Ramsay-Knight, Clara Grant and Nadine Newman.

Myth Busters is a true-or-false challenge in which players identify the myth by indicating whether each statement is true or false. Fifteen staff members took part in the Myth Busters and finished with an average score of 7.7 out of 8. The top three winners were Shakira Maxwell, Vivienne Vassall and Sontee Maxwell.

Lastly, the Cyber Hygiene Quiz presents scenarios in which players must identify the right habits to protect themselves from security incidents. When they select an incorrect answer, they are shown the correct one. Twenty staff members took part in the Cyber Hygiene Quiz and finished with an average score of 74.5 out of 90. The top three winners were Jevene Johnson, Clara Grant, and Jamila Johnson.

Cyber Scramble Winners

Simone Ramsay-Knight (left) was presented by Locksley James (right)

Clara Grant (left) was presented by Locksley James (right)

Nadine Newman (left) was presented by Damelia Coleman (right)

Myth Busters Winners

Shakira Maxwell (left) was presented by Damelia Coleman (right)

Sontee Maxwell (left) was presented by Damelia Coleman (right)

 

Cyber Hygiene Quiz Winners

Jevene Johnson (left) was presented by Javier Bailey (right)

Jamila Johnson (left) was presented by Javier Bailey (right)

Thank You

The Office of the University Chief Information Officer would like to thank all University Centre staff who participated in the weekly activities and contributed to the success of the Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign.

Your enthusiasm and participation helped make the Security Champion Challenge a meaningful and engaging experience. Through the activities, staff strengthened their awareness of cybersecurity threats and had the opportunity to practise making safer decisions when using technology and handling information.

As a result of your participation, you are now recognised as a Security Champion. We encourage you to continue applying the lessons from this campaign by verifying unusual requests, protecting your passwords, reporting suspicious activity, safeguarding sensitive information, and thinking carefully before clicking links or opening attachments. Please remember that safe cybersecurity habits are important both at the workplace and at home. Each of us has a role to play in protecting the University community and helping to keep our information, systems, and services secure.