Winner announced in DSU security awareness poster contest

May 5, 2017

Dakota State University’s Information Technology Services (ITS) Help Desk has announced the winner of its first security awareness poster contest, sophomore graphic design major Obatola Layiwola.

Because computer security is a constant issue, ITS employees David Miller and Stephanie Baatz came up with the poster contest idea to support security awareness on campus.

Jason Jenkins, College of Computing instructor, said the contest provided an opportunity to reinforce what is taught in classes.

“We teach students that one of the weakest links (with computer security) is people,” so the contest gave students an opportunity to think about how they would help the average person understand security. An additional benefit was teaching concise messaging, he added.

After seeing information about the contest on the DSU Activities Post, Layiwola thought “why not (submit an entry)?” His “Protect Your Data” poster features a cloud-shaped set of binary data interspersed with computer security words such as “cybercrime,” “identity theft” and “TrojanHorse.”

He was stunned to learn he had won after the on-campus voting. He plans to use the $100 Amazon gift card prize to purchase a photography studio kit, which will support his graphic design work.

All the posters will be displayed in campus buildings during the 2017-2018 school year. A second contest will be held next year, Baatz said.