Shelby Township

Township treasurer hosts cyber security seminar

By Brad D. Bates
C & G Staff Writer

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — With an eye to protecting residents from increasing threats to privacy and security on the Internet, township Treasurer Michael Flynn is looking for help from the state’s attorney general.

Flynn’s office will host a session of the attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division’s Michigan Cyber Security Initiative from 7-8 p.m. March 14, and parents and guardians will learn how to keep youngsters safeguarded against threats, such as cyber bullying, inappropriate texting and online predators.

“In the Treasurer’s Office, we do a tremendous amount of work on cyber security with the banking, so I thought it was a natural fit to have our office host it,” Flynn said.

The event is free and will be held in the township boardroom at 52700 Van Dyke Ave. It is open to the public within and outside of Shelby Township.

While it is free to attend, guests are asked to RSVP with Deputy Treasurer Barbara Bulic at (586) 707-0300 or at bbulic54@gmail.com.

“We’re going to have a representative from the attorney general’s office, and they have this program in place, and they’ve been doing it for a few years,” Bulic said. “They do a PowerPoint presentation, and it focuses on children (in grades) K to eight.

“It’s not a very dry presentation. It’s pretty interesting. They’ll give scenarios on what to do in the event that these things happen and go through situations where these things have happened,” Bulic added.

According to the attorney general’s website, www.michigan.gov/ag, the Michigan Cyber Safety Initiative is “an Internet safety education program with customized presentations for kindergarten through eighth-grade students and a community seminar.”

The attorney general’s office has worked with public school district superintendents, intermediate school district superintendents, Homeschooling Michigan members, Michigan Association of Non-public Schools members and Michigan Association of Public School Academies to help promote awareness for the increasing risks posed to children online throughout the 2012-13 school year.

“The programming has been presented to more than 900,000 Michigan residents,” a statement from the attorney general’s office said.

“The primary focus is to emphasize students should keep safe by not sharing any personal information, keep away from Internet strangers and keep telling parents or a trusted adult about anything that makes them feel uncomfortable.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Brad D. Bates at bbates@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1029.