With so much of our lives taking place online these days, wouldn’t it be great if there was a time of year that was dedicated to cybersecurity? The good news: There is.
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month.1 Led by the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the US National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), Cybersecurity Awareness Month highlights ways everyone can play a part in securing cyberspace.
Now celebrating its 17th year, the 2020 Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” This theme encourages everyone to take ownership of their cybersecurity in every aspect of daily life. Since all online devices are potentially vulnerable, Cybersecurity Awareness Month serves as a reminder that guarding against cyberthreats is a constant, year-round process.
Since all online devices are potentially vulnerable, Cybersecurity Awareness Month serves as a reminder that guarding against cyberthreats is a constant, year-round process.
This year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month focuses on 4 key areas, with each week dedicated to a different topic:
- Week 1: If You Connect It, Protect It—The 1st week addresses how online devices have impacted our lives, empowering all users to take the right steps to reduce risk.
- Week 2: Securing Devices at Home and Work—Week 2 focuses on steps individuals and organizations can take to protect online devices for personal and professional use.
- Week 3: Securing Internet-Connected Devices in Health Care—In the 3rd week, Cybersecurity Awareness Month examines health care device use and how consumers and industry can secure these devices.
- Week 4: The Future of Connected Devices—Cybersecurity Awareness Month’s final week looks at the future of online devices and address how technological strides can impact consumers’ and business’ online experiences.
Cybersecurity professionals play a vital role in helping individuals learn how to be more safe and secure online by sharing their expertise throughout their communities. Your engagement in Cybersecurity Awareness Month can help everyone stay safe and secure online. Cybersecurity Awareness Month presents an ideal opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise, so this month:
- Meet virtually with your local Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and academic communities and volunteer to help them enhance their cybersecurity posture.
- Work with your favorite nonprofit organization or charity to assess their cybersecurity risk and vulnerabilities.
- Work directly with your community to craft an information campaign that provides best practices to groups that are at-risk to cybercrime, such as seniors and children.
- Help address projected shortfalls in the cybersecurity workforce by working with your organization and communities to create a program that mentors the next generation of cybersecurity professionals. Younger people are extremely well-versed in all things cyber, so actively encourage them to consider a career in cybersecurity.2
- Blog about cybersecurity. Choose a topic within your field of expertise and share what you know.
- Volunteer to speak at a local event or host a webinar on how to take simple cybersecurity steps such as enabling multifactor authentication (MFA), setting up a virtual private network (VPN) on personal devices or other best practices.
When posting about Cybersecurity Awareness Month on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #BeCyberSmart throughout October to help promote cybersecurity awareness. Please email the Cybersecurity Awareness Month team with any questions at stopthinkconnect@hq.dhs.gov, and check out links to other Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency resources to learn more about how you can share good cybersecurity practices throughout your community.
Benjamin Scribner
Is a Section Chief for Awareness within the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Scribner has more than a decade of experience leading national cyber and infrastructure security programs for the US DHS and US Department of Defense (DoD). He serves as a DHS thought leader and representative, leading stakeholder partnerships and engagements that advance the US national understanding of risk and mitigation actions. His major accomplishments include co-authoring the US National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-181 Cybersecurity Workforce Framework and leading the development of both the US Federal Virtual Training Environment and the US National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) portal, which together provide more than 220,000 professionals with access to more than 3,400 cybersecurity courses.
Endnotes
1 US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, USA, 2020
2 Cybercrime Magazine, Cybersecurity Talent Crunch to Create 3.5 Million Unfilled Jobs Globally by 2021, USA, 24 October 2019