Cybersecurity Month 2026

Every October, our college campuses take a month to focus on something that matters every day of the year staying safe online. This year, the CCC Security Center is expanding on that mission with a series of events open to every student, faculty, and staff member across the California Community Colleges.

We're going beyond the usual compliance training checklist and covering topics that matter to you! This year's lineup covers topics around identity theft, online extortion, and the real-world state of cybersecurity, alongside a chance to hear directly from people who've built careers in this field and the paths that got them here.

Please join us for a series of webinars tailored to our staff, faculty, and students. These aren't technical calls with speakers using jargon and complex language, we have topics that matter, presented by people who are passionate about their trade. We look forward to seeing you.

Cybersecurity Month Kick-Off with the DIANA Initiative

 October 7 at 11 AM PT

Kick off Cybersecurity Month with a panel conversation featuring professionals at various stages of their career in the field. Panelists will share how they got into cybersecurity, what challenges they faced along the way, and what kept them going. Whether you're interested in pursuing cybersecurity, just starting out, or years into your career, this session is about the people behind the work, not just the technology. This session is open to all users (students, faculty, and staff) across the California Community Colleges.

Cybersecurity Month All User Training with CrowdStrike

 October 13 at 10AM PT

Dennen Monks from CrowdStrike joins us to talk about the state of cybersecurity today, from nation-state threat actors to the groups driving the attacks we're all watching in the news. AI is part of the conversation, but it's just one piece of a much bigger picture. Dennen has spent 20 years in cybersecurity across network, data, cloud, and application security, and now serves as a Field CTO Strategist at CrowdStrike, covering the western half of North America, giving him a front-row view of how these threats are actually playing out across organizations today. This session keeps things approachable, no deep technical background needed, just a clear look at what's happening on the world stage and what it actually means for you. This session is open to all users (students, faculty, and staff) across the California Community Colleges.

Cybersecurity Month: Identity Fraud Crime 

 October 22 at 11AM PT

Identity fraud can happen to anyone, and it often starts in ways people don't expect. We're joined by Elaine Wootton, a technical expert in identity management and security documents. After a 30-year career with the US government, including DOJ and DHS, Elaine now provides forensic document examination and adversarial analysis through her company, IDxQD, and serves as President of Keeping IDentities Safe (KIDS). She'll break down how identity fraud actually happens, who's most at risk, and what you can do to protect yourself and your family, along with what steps to take if you or someone you know becomes a victim. This session is open to all users (students, faculty, and staff) across the California Community Colleges.

Cybersecurity Month: Sextortion with Operation Shamrock

 October 28 at 11AM PT

For this difficult but important topic, we're joined by Erin West. Erin is the founder of Operation Shamrock, a prosecutor of 26 years who now works directly on the front lines exposing and disrupting online blackmail and romance-based financial scams around the world. Erin doesn't just study these crimes from a distance, she goes into the field, builds decoy profiles, traces scammers across borders, and has confronted perpetrators face to face. Much of her work centers on a hard truth: these scams are increasingly targeting teens and young adults, with devastating consequences. Erin will help attendees recognize these kinds of online extortion and blackmail attempts, understand what to do if it happens to you or someone you know, and leave equipped to share this information with others who need it. This session is open to all users (students, faculty, and staff) across the California Community Colleges.