DURHAM, N.H. - A new program developed by the New Hampshire Chapter of the Information Systems Security Association will match University of New Hampshire, Southern New Hampshire University and other area college students with businesses for hands-on experience in information and IT security.

The ISSA® is a not-for-profit international organization of information security professionals that provide educational forums, publications and peer interaction opportunities for its members. Petr Brym, director of UNH's information technology security, is this year's director of membership in the New Hampshire chapter of the ISSA (http://www.issanh.org/).

The idea to pair students with business arose during a recent discussion on how more people might benefit from ISSA N.H. chapter, Brym said.

"We thought it made sense to reach out to students to diversify participation in the ISSA. The ISSA members are working professionals, and we would like to bring these professionals together with students, who are the future working professionals." Brym said.

The goal is to find opportunities for students where they can gain practical experience while facilitating discussions between businesses and higher education regarding practical information security challenges and solutions.

"We are looking for opportunities for students to shadow, work as apprentices, volunteer, etc.," Brym said. "They could help analyze, collect info, participate in initiatives, or just do routine work and learn from it. And businesses would benefit by learning from students about how they think about privacy and security. This is important, because current students will soon bring those philosophies to the work place.

Interested students can contact Brym at petr.brym@unh.edu or the New Hampshire chapter of the ISSA at info@issanh.org.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

-30-