March 17, 2021
Twelve Posters Selected from More Than 1,000 Student Entries Across NYS Schools
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) today announced the 12 winners of the New York State "Kids Safe Online" Poster Contest. The winners were selected from 1,008 participants, from 74 schools across New York State. Winning posters may be viewed at https://its.ny.gov/ciso/2020-2021-kids-safe-online-poster-contest.
The goal of the contest, held annually since 2005, is to engage young people in thinking about cyber security through the creation of posters that will encourage their peers to use the internet safely and securely. The contest also serves as an opportunity for teachers across New York State to address and reinforce cyber security and online safety issues in the classroom. Students have a chance to illustrate their concerns about cyber bullying, sharing too much personal information and the appropriate use of social media platforms with their peers and teachers in a positive way.
The contest, hosted in conjunction with the Center for Internet Security's (CIS) Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center's (MS-ISAC) national poster contest, was open to New York State students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.
"ITS is pleased to collaborate with MS-ISAC on this important educational campaign and we commend every student and teacher who participated and submitted entries. Congratulations to the winners whose artwork will continue to educate students and adults about cyber security," ITS CIO Angelo 'Tony' Riddick said.
"Students' interpretation of the integration of cyber security into their lives always provides a fresh perspective. They understand how their virtual presence is connected to the protection of their physical identity and are better able to determine what data is safe to share. I am always impressed by their ability to creatively depict how important internet safety is, not only for themselves, but to their peers and the adults around them," said New York State Chief Information Security Officer Karen Sorady.
"Our youth have embraced technology as part of their daily lives, but they also need to recognize risks associated with using technology," MS-ISAC Vice President of MS-ISAC Stakeholder Engagement & Chair Mike Aliperti said. "Everyone is a winner in the Kids Safe Online Poster Contest. Each participant, and those who view the winning entries and calendars, have a better understanding of how to stay safe online. We live in a digital world and need to be diligent in safeguarding our information."
The winners' artwork will be featured in the 2022 New York State "Kids Safe Online" Calendar. Winners will also receive a New York State certificate of achievement. All winning entries are submitted to the National K-12 Poster Contest, conducted by the CIS's MS-ISAC.
Congratulations to the 2020-2021 New York State Poster Contest winners:
Sahaj Virani, Grade 1 - District 24
Haley, Grade 2
London Lampasona, Grade 2 - Smithtown Central School District
Megan Schaefer, Grade 4 - North Shore Central School District
Aisha Ganga, Grade 5 - Clarence Central School District
Alyssa, Grade 5
Abigail, Grade 7
Daoud Mirza, Grade 7 - District 21
Jeanine Alfaro, Grade 7 - Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Academy
Aaron Kim, Grade 12 - Brooklyn Technical High School
Allison, Grade 12
Jenna Li, Grade 12 - Brooklyn Technical High School
About ITS
The New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) was created in 2012 to transform IT services in an effort to make New York State government work smarter for its citizens and enable the state to be accessible for businesses through the use of technology. ITS provides statewide IT strategic direction, directs IT policy and delivers centralized IT products and services that support the mission of the State. ITS operates data centers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to support statewide mission-critical applications for over 50 Agencies, over 17 million citizen accounts, 120,000 employee accounts, 60,000 phones, 99,000 desktops and laptops, and 3,433 Virtual Desktop remote connections. ITS operates a secure network of over 1,600 miles of fiber to deliver telecommunications, Internet and Intranet services, enterprise email systems and support, IT training, networking, data storage and processing to State government entities in addition to developing new services in support of citizens, businesses and State Agencies.
For more information, visit https://its.ny.gov and follow us on Twitter @nysits.
Contact Information: Alicia Biggs [email protected]