What is the Cyber Champions Programme?
Our Cyber Champions Programme aims to increase cyber security awareness across LSE by bringing together a group of volunteers from around our community.
The programme’s goal is to drive up positive engagement between staff and the Cyber Security team, which will help reduce successful phishing campaigns, prevent data breaches, and magnify our threat detection efforts.
Our cyber champions programme aims to:
- Increase the visibility of the LSE’s cyber security team
- Motivate our staff to stay up to date about the latest cyber security issues
- Foster a positive culture of awareness – less people blaming, more investment in encouraging the adoption of cyber security best practices.
What do champions do?
Our Cyber Champions have two main tasks:
1. Inform colleagues how to spot and report phishing
2. Encourage colleagues to complete annual cyber security training.
Champions are responsible for liaising with their colleagues in their respective department / division. For example, a champion from the Department of Mathematics is only expected to reach out to their peers in Maths, not Finance, History, etc.
Champions can also share periodic security updates from the cyber security team. Templates will be provided, and champions are welcome to tailor guidance to fit their department/division’s unique needs. Cyber security topics shared will be light touch and as informative but non-disruptive to staff as possible.
How can I volunteer?
To volunteer as a champion, please complete the cyber security awareness course on Moodle here. Alternatively, take part in your department/division’s group training session, speak to your department manager to ask when your training is scheduled.
When you’ve completed awareness training, please email dts.cyber.security.and.risk@lse.ac.uk to register your interest in being a Cyber Champion. The cyber security team will email back with more information once enough staff have volunteered to organise an induction meeting for the first champions.
Frequently Asked Questions
- By supporting the Cyber team’s efforts to protect the School from ransomware, data breaches, and social engineering attacks, champions gain skills and knowledge on cyber topics and how best to communicate these
- They have enhanced access to the Cyber Security team to ask questions and get the latest cyber security updates for LSE
- They get to join a community of champions which involves networking with others across our community and take part in periodic group catch ups
- Earn a certificate and can incorporate their volunteer work in the pilot program in their career development at LSE.
This is a low-commitment volunteer opportunity to make a big impact at LSE. Champions only need to commit one hour per week maximum to help make LSE a safer place to study, work, and research.
The Cyber Security team will provide induction training for new champions who will receive a completion certificate, which they can apply to their career development at LSE.
There will be a shared Teams site – a hub for champions to ask questions and share feedback – along with regular catch-up sessions with the cyber security team. The programme will mostly be remote to make it as accessible as possible, but depending on demand, in-person catch ups with the cyber security team can be organised.
Any full-time staff member with an LSE email address can volunteer as a champion, whether they just joined LSE or have worked for many years at our School. Academic and PSS staff are equally needed.
Champions are not expected to have extensive cyber security experience; the volunteer role is non-technical. Empathetic, sensible staff members who understand the importance of cyber security awareness are encouraged to volunteer.
At the most, one hour per week on average. Periodically, there will be catchups organised, and those will take 30 minutes to an hour. A Cyber Champion who wants to be more involved is very welcome to commit more time, but we appreciate this is entirely voluntary and most staff already has significant work commitments.
These are not the same programme, but the Secretary’s Division is aware of the Cyber Champions programme and has kindly leant its support. If you are already a Data Security Champion, you are extra welcome to volunteer as a Cyber Champion, as there will be some overlap in the areas covered (particularly data security topics) between the two programmes.
A: We are currently recruiting LSE staff. There will be limited ways for students to become involved, as the programme is currently structured around liaising with departments and divisions. However, if you are a student and are sincerely interested in cyber security, we want to hear from you – email dts.cyber.security.and.risk@lse.ac.uk and we can discuss if you may be a good fit.