October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

[W1NCH]

WASHINGTON – Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the kickoff of the 21st Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Throughout October, CISA and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) will focus on ways to “Secure Our World” by educating the public on how to stay safe online.

This October and year-round, CISA challenges everyone to help secure our world by adopting four simple steps that everyone can take to stay safe online:

• Use strong passwords that are long, random, and unique to each account, and use a password manager to generate them and to save them.

• Turn on multifactor authentication on all accounts that offer it. We need more than a password on our most important accounts, like email, social media, and financial accounts.

• Recognize and report phishing, as we like to say, think before you click. Be cautious of unsolicited emails or texts or calls asking you for personal information, and don't click on links or open attachments from unknown sources.

• Update software. In fact, enable automatic updates on software so the latest security patches keep devices we are connected to continuously up to date.

“CISA is excited to again partner with the National Cybersecurity Alliance and lead the federal government’s efforts to reduce online risk during this 21st Cybersecurity Awareness month and every month,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly. “Our focus is working with government and industry to raise cybersecurity awareness and help everyone, from individuals to businesses to all levels of government, stay safe online in our ever-connected world. Protecting ourselves online is about taking a few simple, everyday steps to keep our digital lives safe.”

Additionally, CISA has developed guidance for specific audiences, including:

• Individuals and families: CISA is emphasizing the importance of securing personal accounts, offering guidance on personal device safety, safe internet browsing practices, social media usage, and protecting personal information online.

• Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs): SBMs face unique challenges, so CISA is working to help them Secure Our World by offering tools and resources that can help boost SMB’s cybersecurity defenses and minimizes the risk of data breaches or cyber-attacks, making not only our businesses, but our communities safer.

CISA encourages everyone to explore the resources on our Cybersecurity Awareness Month website, which include a toolkit, tip sheets, and animated videos.

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About CISA

As the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day.

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https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/c ... ness-month