About the Project

Inspired by The Race Card Project, the Cybersecurity in Six Words Campaign is part of a dedicated outreach to understand how the campus community views cybersecurity in their lives. We encourage everyone to share their perspective and experiences to open up a poignant conversation about cybersecurity. We hope to use what we gain here to not only raise awareness of cybersecurity issues around campus, like identity theft and data breaches, but also further improve our efforts to keep you safe and secure online.

A Letter from Mike Corn, CISO

Have you ever wondered “how did that company know to send me spam about a hobby of mine?” Whether you realize it or not, you are a public figure. In the digital age, your information is everywhere and even if you try to live outside any social media box, the consequences of how your personal information is being used, sold, or stolen is very much real regardless of best intentions. Our personal lives, our privacy, and even our civil rights as citizens are constantly being challenged due to the use and misuse of our personal information.

Each of us experience this differently. For some, the exchange of our personal information for a few free services or ads seems like a fair trade. For others, it’s a terrifying violation leading to harassment or religious or racial profiling. And for a few more, cybersecurity functions more as a technological barrier to tools and information than a tool itself. Is rolling out a two-step login a long overdue necessity, or merely another annoying security control? Is security something you avoid or something you wish you’d paid more attention to due to identity theft?

Our UC San Diego community is not just a diverse metropolis of students, staff, and faculty, but a vibrant community of individuals, each with their own wealth of incredibly valuable stories and experiences. And when it comes to matters of information security, your story is one we'd like to hear. Please take a moment to tell us your story either here on this site, or by sending back one of our six word cards you may have received.

Michael Corn
Chief Information Security Officer
University of California, San Diego