cybercrime

In a few weeks, we’ll be saying “goodbye” to September and “hello” to October. The green leaves will start to change red, yellow, orange, and brown. The air will become brisk and cool, perfect for boots and sweaters ready to leap out of storage. October can also be a spooky time of year, full of ghouls, ghosts, and critters going bump in the night. Strangely, these creatures can be heard calling for treats or threatening you with tricks if you don’t comply! Best to have full-size Snickers bars on hand, just to be on the safe side.

It’s also important to stay on the safe side in our professional lives. While fending off tricks with or demanding tasty treats may not seem like cybersecurity, the idea has some merit. We can use different safeguards and tools to ward off “tricks” that any number of cyber threat actors might employ.

While you gear up for the spookiest time of year, allow us to add another event to your calendar.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and celebrating its 18^th anniversary this year! The National Cyber Security Alliance and the US Department of Homeland Security launched Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October 2004 to help Americans learn safer habits and better safeguards online, but it has spread on an international level since then.

In its first year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month encouraged us to update our antivirus software regularly, but these days it has become so much more than that. Each Cybersecurity Awareness Month boasts multiple themes, such as security education, cybercrime, law enforcement, mobility, and critical infrastructure, with a focus on cybersecurity strategies for small and medium-sized business.

This year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme is “Do Your Part.” Here are just a few ways you can get ready for Cybersecurity Awareness Month and celebrate all month long:

• The first thing you can do is head over to https://www.cisa.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month for more information on the event and its themes. Whether you’re a veteran of Cybersecurity Awareness Month or this is your first year checking out the program, there are tons of resources and events at your disposal, including weekly themes, keynote speakers,
• You can plan an event of your own, like setting up a newsletter or weekly email that
  explores each weekly theme. Use these themes as launching points for awareness during team meetings. There are many ways you and your company can get motivated and involved, so choose what works best for you. online events, and more.
• Take this time to check in with your IT department about safeguards and measures in your own company. Whether or not you’re participating in this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the event is a great reminder to make sure you know what’s going with your data and your clients’ data.
• Finally, follow us! We’ll be actively participating this month, posting lots of great content on our social media, including webinars, blogs, and more. So if you haven’t yet, check out our website or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Sometimes, folks like having workout partners when they’re getting in shape, so think of us as your cybersecurity workout buddies.

Cybersecurity is more important than ever.

While many of us saw COVID as a chance to rally and grow in the face of the pandemic, threat actors saw it as an opportunity to exploit new vulnerabilities. As most of us went remote and lived online more than ever, the number of attacks and attempts to access our data skyrocketed. Cybercriminals may have some tricks up their sleeves, but Cybersecurity Awareness Month is here with plenty of treats to keep you, your company, and your clients safe.