Cybersecurity expert Robert Zekanis to speak at RCC October 24

With cyberattacks on the rise, Robeson Community College will host a special presentation with Cybersecurity Expert Robert Zekanis.

“October is Cybersecurity Month and part of our NSF-ATE Grant is to help make our community more aware of cybersecurity issues,” stated Loretta Allen, the NSF-ATE Grant Co Principal Investigator and RCC IT Instructor. “Having Robert Zekanis on campus to share with us his expertise and knowledge is a great opportunity for our students, faculty, staff and community.”

Zekanis recently retired from the Department of Defense, where he worked as the Chief of the Information Management Branch of the Directorate of Human Resources of the United States Army, stationed at Ft. Bragg.

While at Ft. Bragg, Zekanis and his staff processed millions of personnel orders each year, including enlistments, marriages, divorces, births, duty changes, transfers, promotions, demotions, and discharges. With this enormous amount of information, every order required specific forms to be completed, communicated properly through base channels, and archived and available for immediate retrieval. With this came a heightened level of defense to safeguard documents, which was needed to protect soldiers, civilians, and national security.

Since retiring, Zekanis has joined forces with Strike Hold as a consultant.

The presentation will take place on Monday, October 24 at 11:00 a.m. in the RCC Auditorium. The event is free and is open to the general public.

“#BeCyberSmart and consider attending to discover ways to protect yourself, your family, your business from unwanted cyber threats,” stated Allen. “Knowledge is powerful and the more you know, the less chance you have of becoming a victim of cybercrime.”