President Obama first designated October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month back in 2014. Things have gotten pretty interesting since then
Cyber threats pose one of the gravest national security dangers the United States faces. – Barack Obama
This year, Cyber Security Awareness Month takes on a special significance. It is not a stretch to say that we’ve never faced such a frightening cyber security landscape, from ransomware, targeted phishing, and other email security threats to major breaches compromising the data of hundreds of millions. Worse, it’s extended beyond the extortion for malicious (WannaCry) or financial (SEC) means, to geo-political cyber warfare as well.
As far as we’ve come, those with malicious intent have strong incentive to stay ahead of those trying to stop them. Where we might be ahead of them, there are always people who aren’t on the front lines and aren’t regularly updating their cyber security strategy. For this reason, an annual Cyber Security Awareness Month makes sense. It’s a great opportunity for companies and individuals alike to take stock of their own situation and make efforts to improve their protection. It’s also a great opportunity for those who are aware of the dangers to get informed.
In order to fully take advantage of this time, we’ve put together a list of 10 resources for anybody that wants to raise their awareness and improve their cyber security.
1) Set up a cyber and email security awareness and training program
There are 3 important challenges any business faces with their cyber security program. The first is awareness (followed by training and tools). Here are a few ideas to raise awareness internally to ensure there’s ongoing buy-in and that you have engaged teams.
2) Learn some cyber security training practices for everyday business safety
Training requires setting realistic expectations that consider the realities of your work environment. Here are a few important angles to prioritize.
3) Think you know your stuff? Take a quiz!
If you get 9/10 right, you’ll be in the top 4% of people who took this Pew Quiz. This quiz from Cyber Security Month in the EU is also pretty good.
4) Play a cyber security game
How about some “edutainment”? Here’s some good basic training around some ideas in cyber security from Nova Labs.
5) Check out your email security score
Check how out your email performs from a security perspective using our own email security grader.
6) Get involved and become an Awareness Champion
For a variety of ways to get involved check out the Stay Safe Online resources and become a “Cyber Security Awareness Month Champion” (it’s free – and a good show of support)
7) Something from our Canadian friends…
While officially from the Government of Canada, the resources are excellent for anyone who’d like to learn and explore themes on Cyber Security throughout the entire month.
8) #CyberAware
Share this post (of course it will help spread awareness!) or any other with the hashtag #cyberaware. Who knows, maybe someone will share something you’ll find of value to your work or security.
9) Evaluate your budget, strategy and plan
Look at your company’s cyber budget – is it sufficient? Are you leaving yourself vulnerable? It’s a good as any month to get organizational buy-in.
10) Get offline and participate in an event
Attend a Cyber Security event in your community (you can check Eventbrite as well for cyber security events near you). We spend a lot of time on our computers. Go have a beer (please drink responsibly) and discuss how you can and are beating the hackers, scammers and all those dark sorts.
And Celebrate CSAM A Bit (or Byte?) Too While You’re It
It’s not all doom and gloom. At the end of the day, you’ll have done a great job at protecting your clients, or your company will have successfully implemented its cyber plan – and you get to sleep a little better too. So, crack open a beer and celebrate Cyber Security Awareness Month the right way!
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