Students brought their iPhones, Android smartphones, iPads and laptops to the Brickyard on Wednesday to determine if their mobile devices were safe against security breaches.

About 500 students attended the Mobile Security Device Checkpoint, hosted by the Office of Information Technology.

 OIT held the checkpoint, in its second year, as part of its annual Data Security Awareness Month.  

The event coordinator, Deborah Booth, an IT security analyst for OIT, said the office ran a diagnostic for each device to see if there was a need for software updates or a new passcode. 

“Our goal is to get students a little more educated on how to [update their phone]…on a normal, monthly basis, to check their phone’s security,” Booth said. 

Booth said members of OIT interviewed students to determine how much the student population knows about mobile-device security and how knowledgeable it is about protecting their devices. 

According to IT Security Officer, Tim Gurganus, the goal of the event was to make sure students are aware of the security breaches of mobile devices and how to configure protection. 

“Every phone I’ve looked at today has had applications that need updating,” Gurganus said. “Students don’t understand that their devices need updates to correct security bugs, so we show them how to do that and what the device will say if there is a patch needed.”

Gurganus said OIT advised students how to arrange device-location services in case they lose a device. He said many students who came by the checkpoint hadn’t set up that feature. The iPhone has a feature on iCloud, and Android users can use device location by configuring it at Android’s website. 

“Our goal is to make students aware of security features that are already on their phones, Gurganus said. “Each person we’ve processed today has learned something new.” 

Information security officer for OIT, Neal McCorkle said devices are at a high risk with all the data that are added every day. According to McCorkle, OIT is trying to help students locate lost devices as quickly as possible to reduce theft. 

McCorkle said he also told Android users why it’s important to set up an antivirus program, such as Sophos or Lookout. 

“Because [Android] can do more [and] it’s a more open platform…its security isn’t as tight,” McCorkle said. 

Operations and Systems Specialist Payman Damghani said he found many students who were Android users were surprised that anti-virus programs were even necessary.

Griffin Prufer, a freshman in psychology, said he learned several things at the device checkpoint.

“I learned about the Google Device Manager app for my Android,” Prufer said. “I’ve always heard of different applications that had security protection, but this one seems to do everything I want it to do, like locating a device or wiping the information off if I need to.” 

Android users can reset the PIN, lock, call or locate their devices once they are registered with The Google Device Manager app.

OIT is sponsoring several more data security events this month including one on Halloween called “10 Spooky Attacks Targeting You,” in which students have the chance to win prizes, such as an iPod by learning how cyber criminals make money.