Thanks to the news and views on display daily during election season, there is constant talk about the country’s borders and the need to protect them. But October takes things a step further – into the virtual – by being National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM).
The Department of Homeland Security’s annual awareness campaign, a collaboration with the National Cyber Security Alliance, is now in its 13th year. The campaign is intended to educate both the public and private sector about threats to the connected world that go far beyond seemingly ceaseless political tweet storms. Events and initiatives also raise awareness of tools available as safeguards and responses to a cyber incident.
Each week in NCSAM has a theme, with the first (Oct. 3-7) being “Everyday Steps Toward Online Safety with Stop.Think.Connect.” The intention is to reinforce basic ways to secure every citizen’s online presence, regardless of age and technical ability. News, tips and a toolkit relating to reducing cyber vulnerability can be found at www.dhs.gov/stopthinkconnect.
Ongoing themes include: “Cyber from the Break Room to the Board Room” (Oct. 10-14, 2016); “Recognizing and Combating Cybercrime” (Oct. 17-21, 2016); “Our Continuously Connected Lives: What’s Your ‘App’-titude? (Oct. 24-28); and “Building Resilience in Critical Infrastructure” (Oct. 31).
Through these themes NCSAM will address:
- Promoting an organization-wide cyber posture
- Detecting and mitigating phishing attempts
- Best practices in a world of connected smart devices
- How physical and cyber infrastructure are linked and should be sustained.
