What is Cyber security awareness month, Why it's necessary to celebrate?
National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), a month-long public awareness program started by the US Department of Homeland Security(DHS), begins in October. The annual campaign aims to increase public awareness of cyber security best practices and emphasize the importance of teamwork in preventing online fraud and attacks.
The importance of National Cyber Security Awareness Month has increased due to the sharp increase in phishing attacks and cyberattacks, which now happen every 39 seconds. 64% of businesses globally have been subject to some kind of cyberattack, and perhaps even more concerning is the fact that 90% of all cyberattacks are the result of human error. These figures demonstrate the continued danger to organizations and the necessity of raising everyone’s level of understanding of cyber security.
Why Is Cyber security Awareness Important?
Cybersecurity incidents can cost a lot of money, just like safety mishaps do. If you’re having trouble allocating funds for cybersecurity people, tools, or training, you should consider it from the perspective of risk management. With an annual increase in cyberattacks, the risk of not providing your staff with cybersecurity awareness training only increases.
Cybercriminals are always coming up with new strategies to get beyond the most advanced defensive measures and technologies, which allow them to access their employees’ inboxes and browsers. In 2021, human error was a factor in 85% of data breaches, and 94% of malware was distributed via email.
You may greatly lower the chance of a security incident or breach by training your workforce to recognize and respond to these attacks. This might mean the difference between your IT department receiving a notification saying, “This email seems weird, therefore I didn’t open it,” and your system being infected with costly ransomware.
See Yourself in Cyber
The campaign theme for this year, “See Yourself in Cyber,” shows that although cybersecurity may appear to be a complicated subject, in the end, it’s truly all about people. In order to ensure that all individuals and organizations make informed decisions now and in the future, whether on the job, at home, or in school, this October will put a special emphasis on the “people” aspect of cybersecurity. By developing your own cyber awareness campaigns and disseminating this messaging among your peers, we encourage each of you to participate in this year’s efforts.
4 Things You Can Do
Throughout October, CISA and NCA will highlight key action steps that everyone should take:
- Think Before You Click: Recognize and Report Phishing: Think twice before clicking on a link if it seems a little weird. It can be an effort to install malware or to obtain sensitive information.
- Update Your Software: Don't delay: If you see a software update notification, act promptly. Better yet, turn on automatic updates.
- Use Strong Passwords: Use passwords that are long, unique, and randomly generated. Use password managers to generate and remember different, complex passwords for each of your accounts. A password manager will encrypt passwords securing them for you!
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication: You need more than a password to protect your online accounts, and enabling MFA makes you significantly less likely to get hacked.
Get Involved
Everybody can influence the course of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Check out how BanyanCloud supports Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Follow and become a Cybersecurity Awareness person and get a free pdf to help you start your own campaign, whether you have a minute, an hour, a day, or the entire month!