Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Nowadays, as technology has crept into every hour of our life. The average American is known to spend at least 24 hours per week surfing the net. This is why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance name October as the Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

The main purpose of Cybersecurity Awareness Month or NCSAM was to help individuals to stay safe and more secure online. Consequently, encouraging organizations to own their role in protecting their part of cyberspace.

5 Basic Personal Cybersecurity Tips

• Systems Security Maintain software and Operating System up to date in order to patch known vulnerabilities.
• Email Security Do not open any attachments unless you are expecting the file.
• Online Security Be extra suspicious of any message that urges immediate action.
• Password Security Use strong passwords and do not reuse a password on any website.
• Accounts Security Enable Two-Step Authentication to add an extra security layer to your accounts.

Businesses Cybersecurity Rules

Personal information is a very important asset in today’s business world. Most of the people feel that above all, it’s extremely important that companies allowed them to know which personal data is collected. In order to keep transparency. Companies should consider taking the following actions to create a culture of respecting privacy.

• IF YOU COLLECT IT, PROTECT IT As a business you are responsible to follow reasonable security measures to protect individuals’ personal information.
• PERSONAL INFORMATION TRANSPARENCY Clearly communicates your data use and practices.
• CULTURE OF PRIVACY Educate employees and about their role in privacy, security, and respecting and protecting the personal information of colleagues and customers.
• PARTNERS AND VENDORS You are also responsible for how they use and collect personal information.

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month Resources

Moreover, here are some resources provided by Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency amid National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

• NCSAM Partner Presentation
• Cybersecurity at Work Tip Sheet
• Cybersecurity While Traveling Tip Sheet
• Identity Theft and Internet Scams Tip Sheet
• E-Skimming Tip Sheet
• Internet of Things Tip Sheet
• Multi-factor Authentication Tip Sheet
• Online Privacy Tip Sheet
• Passwords Tip Sheet
• Phishing Tip Sheet
• Protecting Your Digital Home Tip Sheet
• Social Media Cybersecurity Tip Sheet

The Bottom Line

In conclusion, Cybersecurity Awareness Month’s main purpose is to engage with individuals. Primarily, to raise awareness about cybersecurity, provide them with the tools and resources needed to stay safe online.

The collaboration of NCSA and DHS on Cybersecurity Awareness Month is certainly one of the many successful public-private partnerships that are so critical to cybersecurity.