The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) kicked off Cybersecurity Awareness Month today, following a proclamation by President Biden designating October as a time for the public and private sectors to work together to continue raising awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and equip the public with the resources they need to be safer and more secure online. Throughout October, CISA, in partnership with the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), will participate in a number of events, social media engagements, and other outreach to encourage people to take ownership of their individual cybersecurity and take actionable steps to stay safe online.
“Cybersecurity is ultimately about protecting lives and keeping people secure,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly. “It’s important that everyone take a moment this month to implement common-sense steps like multi-factor authentication to keep themselves secure online. So much of our daily routines exist on digital platforms, and we need everyone to do their part to combat the growing threats our nation faces in cyberspace.”
This month, CISA will be focused on ensuring the public is practicing good “cyber hygiene,” easy and common-sense steps to protect yourself online. We urge everyone to implement these four easy things you can do on your devices:
- Implement multi-factor authentication on your accounts and make it 99% less likely you’ll get hacked.
- Update your software. In fact, turn on automatic updates.
- Think before you click. Over 90% of successful cyber attacks start with a phishing email.
- Use strong passwords, and ideally a password manager to generate and store unique passwords.
More information on the 4 Things You Can Do to Keep Yourself Cyber Safe is available on CISA.gov.
The overarching theme of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart,” and CISA and the NCSA will focus their efforts on the following specific themes throughout the month:
- Week of October 4 (Week 1): Be Cyber Smart
- Week of October 11 (Week 2): Phight the Phish!
- Week of October 18 (Week 3): Career Awareness Week: Explore. Experience. Share
- Week of October 25 (Week 4): Cybersecurity First
More information about Cybersecurity Awareness Month, including information and resources for organizations interested in helping to get the word out about the importance of cybersecurity, is available at CISA.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month.
