Building Awareness to Strengthen Your Digital Defenses
Every October, individuals and organizations around the world observe Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a campaign designed to promote the importance of online safety and cybersecurity best practices. Since its inception in 2004 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance, Cybersecurity Awareness Month has grown into a global movement. The goal is to empower all people to protect their digital platforms through the sharing of knowledge.
Why Cybersecurity Awareness Matters
Nowadays, nearly every aspect of our lives depends on some sort of computing. Whether it be online banking or health care services, social media, or shopping, keeping your digital world secure has to be a priority. This isn’t always easy. The more people use online resources to work, communicate, and play, the more opportunists will look to get between people and steal and corrupt data. Phishing, ransomware, data breaches, and identity theft are just a few examples of the methods cybercriminals use.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month has become an important part of the shared responsibilities we all have to do our best to keep information safe. The fact is cyberthreats can target anyone, anywhere, making it essential for everyone to do their best to learn, and adhere to, solid cybersecurity strategies. This includes building and using strong passwords to implement multi-factor authentication, every small action can collectively add to the overall security of people all around the world.
How to Better “Secure Our World”
This year’s theme is Secure Our World and focuses on these four steps to improve the security of accounts:
- Enable strong authentication - Users will want to deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. This extra layer of protection ensures that even if a password is compromised, attackers cannot easily access your accounts.
- Recognize and report phishing - Phishing attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It’s important to recognize suspicious correspondence and report them if you are in a position to do so.
- Update software regularly - Outdated software can leave you vulnerable to cyberattacks. Make sure your operating systems, apps, and antivirus programs are up to date.
- Create strong passwords - Probably the most important step is to create and use unique, complex passwords for each account and avoid using easily identifiable information in those passwords.
The Future of Cybersecurity
Unfortunately, even as security technology and strategies evolve, so do the methods used by cybercriminals. This is why ongoing education, training, and testing have become extremely important. Cybersecurity Awareness Month serves as an annual reminder that cyberthreats are real, and staying informed and proactive is the best defense against being a victim of hackers, scammers, and other opportunists.
