AIKEN, S.C. (August 20, 2018) – Savannah River Remediation (SRR)’s Cyber Security team recently shared tips to a national audience on how to better communicate cyber user awareness.
SRR, the Savannah River Site (SRS) liquid waste contractor, was one of the presenters at the 2018 SANS Security Awareness Summit in Charleston, South Carolina, this month. Principal Cyber Security Specialist Steve Lape presented on behalf of SRR to share the success the company has seen with its cyber user awareness program. SRR was one of only 13 selected presentations out of 50 that were submitted for the Summit. Other companies that presented included FedEx, Lockheed Martin, CVS Health, and Thomson Reuters.
In his presentation, called “No User Awareness Budget? No Problem,” Lape discussed his team’s success in building a user awareness program from scratch.
“We built the program to promote cyber security awareness not only at work, but also at home,” Lape said. “By promoting awareness, we lower our risk of a potential successful cyber-attack because employees are more alert and knowledgeable.”
With the help of the SRR Public Affairs and Project Communications group, the SRR cyber team uses creative ways to make the user awareness program fun and memorable for employees, according to Lape. The team also puts on monthly lunch and learn sessions open to all employees, with topics ranging from the Internet of Things, to Ransomware, and Artificial Intelligence.
The SANS Security Awareness Summit is not the first time the SRR cyber team has provided cyber user awareness tips outside of SRS. The team has presented at the University of South Carolina Aiken, the Fort Gordon Cyber Command, and the CSRA-Institute of Internal Auditors.
SRR has been recognized by the National Cyber Security Alliance as a champion of Cyber Security Awareness Month for four consecutive years, each year that SRR has applied. SRR’s cyber security awareness training program has also been recognized by the Department of Energy (DOE) as “Best in Class.”
“We share all our user awareness materials not only with DOE Headquarters but with the entire DOE complex,” Lape said.
The 5th annual SANS Security Awareness Summit was a two-day, forum-style event to provide actionable lessons that cyber professionals can apply within an organization, with a focus on specific industry, employee base, and current maturity level. The Summit included expert awareness-focused talks, interactive discussions, networking events, and more.
The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. It consists of security practitioners in varied global organizations from corporations to universities, working together to help the entire information security community.
SRR is the liquid waste contractor at SRS for the U.S. Department of Energy. SRR is composed of a team of companies led by AECOM with partners Bechtel National, CH2M, and BWX Technologies. Critical subcontractors for the contract are Orano, Atkins, and AECOM N&E Technical Services.
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