What is Cybersecurity Awareness Month?
Since 2004, the President of the United States and Congress have declared October Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
This initiative aims to raise awareness and help individuals protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) lead a collaborative effort between government and industry to educate in cybersecurity nationally and internationally.
This year's theme is: See yourself in Cyber
This year’s campaign theme — “See Yourself in Cyber” — demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people. This October will focus on the “people” part of cybersecurity,
providing information and resources to help educate CISA partners and the public, and ensure all individuals and organizations make smart decisions whether on the job, at home or at school – now and in the future. We encourage each of you to engage
4 Things You Can Do
Throughout October, CISA and NCA will highlight key action steps that everyone should take:
Think Before You Click: Recognize and Report Phishing: If a link looks a little off, think before you click. It could be an attempt to get sensitive information or install malware.
Update Your Software: Don't delay -- If you see a software update notification, act promptly. Better yet, turn on automatic updates.
Use Strong Passwords: Use passwords that are long, unique, and randomly generated. Use password managers to generate and remember different, complex passwords for each of your accounts. A passwords manager will encrypt passwords securing them for you!.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication: You need more than a password to protect your online accounts, and enabling MFA makes you significantly less likely to get hacked.
We encourage you to take a risk-based approach and focus on the behaviors most important to your organization.
Everyone has a right to a safe internet, so let’s remember to #BeCyberSmart.
References
CISA Public Toolkit