Queen’s is encouraging students to take cybersecurity modules in response to an incident at the AMS executive debate on Feb. 2.
The University acknowledged the racist image air-dropped to students during the debate and released a statement to The Journal condemning racism and discrimination within the Queen’s community.
“[Queen’s] is committed to promoting a safe, healthy, and inclusive community. We strive to provide a range of services, programming, and supports for students, including in response to campus or external events or situations,” the statement said.
Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice-Principal (Information Technology Services) Marie-Claude Arguin condemned the incident in a statement to The Journal.
According to Arguin, security controls could not have prevented the incident, but Queen’s cybersecurity “best practices” were not followed by students when the racist image was distributed.
“Unfortunately, it would seem that cybersecurity best practices in relation to mobile device management were not followed with respect to the air-dropping of this photo between individuals and their iPhones,” Arguin said.
She asked students to take the cybersecurity training modules they were sent via email.
“A comprehensive cybersecurity education and awareness program has been established for members of the Queen’s community,” Aguin said.
The University encouraged students to reach out and outlined its existing support through Yellow House, Student Wellness Services, and Human Rights Advisory Services.
Yellow House held a Community Care drop-in for Black-identifying students on Feb. 6 following acts of police brutality in Memphis, Tennessee. Staff, peers, and a BIPOC counsellor were present at the session.
“Yellow House will continue to provide and promote additional and similar programming,” the University said.
Tags
AMS, debate, Discrimination, Queen's, racism
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