Every day, we hear stories about people who have had their credit and investments destroyed within even just a few hours of a deviant individual stealing and manipulating their personal information. While you are online, even if you are operating under a username, a driven identity thief can find ways to access your full name and email, and from there they can find information about you online through popular social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook and even Myspace. With this information, an individual can build a profile of who you are and what you do, and use it to try and gain access to your private information and identity.

Similarly, we hear from friends, and even friends of friends, about people who are denied a job, internship or scholarship due to information or pictures posted on their Facebook profiles.

To ensure the cybersafety of the students at UT, the Student Organization Safety Board is hosting an event tonight to bring information to students about these rapidly-growing topics.

The event will feature a panel of experts and an employee from Google, providing a vital learning experience for any college student in this age of instant information. The program will aim at empowering students with the tools and know-how to stay safe online while maximizing the utility of the Internet and social networks. Topics will range from networking in the workplace to having a hirable social network profile to maintaining your privacy and even preventing identity theft.

If you are interested in attending this event, come to Room 105 of Mary E. Gearing Hall at 6 p.m. today.

— Andrew Ziegler
Ziegler is the publicity chair for the Student Organization Safety Board and a government freshman.