October is finally here which means cooler temperatures, changing leaves, hot drinks and…cybersecurity!
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), and this year is the 15th time it’s being recognized as an annual initiative. NCSAM is co-led by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance with the objective of making sure every American has the resources they need to stay safe and secure online, while also increasing the resiliency of the nation during cyber-threats.
In a nutshell, the purpose of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is to bring awareness to the fact that cybersecurity is our shared responsibility and we must all work together to improve the nation’s cybersecurity.
This year, NCSAM will address a different theme each week of October, as follows:
- Oct. 1-5: Make Your Home a Haven for Online Safety
- Oct. 8-12: Millions of Rewarding Jobs: Educating for a Career in Cybersecurity
- Oct. 15-19: Everyone’s Job to Ensure Online Safety at Work
- Oct. 22-26: Safeguarding the Nation’s Critical Infrastructure
There are also Twitter chats scheduled for each Thursday on the corresponding theme. Everyone is invited and welcome to attend. All you need to do is log into Twitter, follow @Cyber and join the conversation by using #ChatSTC AND #CyberAware in your tweets.
GovLoop will be participating in NCSAM by addressing each of these themes once a week in our daily newsletter, the Daily Awesome (if you’re not subscribed, sign up now!).
If your agency or organization is looking to participate in NCSAM too, you can check out this helpful toolkit! It contains a ton of resources to help you engage and promote cybersecurity awareness. Check out the table of contents to easily find tips and links to participate in scheduled activities. There are also resources to help you engage the different types of audiences that might be relevant to your organization.
Here are also a few helpful resources to get you up-to-speed on all things cybersecurity:
So glad this month of awareness exists and serves to remind everyone of the shared responsibility of cybersecurity. Plus the tips found in the DHS toolkit were quite helpful!