It’s back!
Celebrating its 19th year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October is a collaboration between government and private industry to raise awareness and best practices about digital security and the importance of staying safe online.
The month is dedicated to providing resources for people and businesses to learn and talk about ways to stay safe and secure online.
Led by the U.S. National Cybersecurity Alliance and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), the theme for 2022 is: See Yourself in Cyber.
This year, the focus is on four key behaviors:
- Turning on multi-factor authentication: you need more than a password to protect your online accounts
- Using strong passwords and a password manager: create unique, complex passwords for your accounts. Using a password manager encrypts passwords for you.
- Updating software: keep your software updated. Consider turning on automatic updates.
- Identifying and reporting phishing: Think before you select a link in your emails massages. If it looks odd, don’t select it. If you’re using a work email, report phishing to your information technology department.
Small steps make a difference in security.
There’s no better time than now to learn how to protect yourself, your home, and your business/organization from cybersecurity threats.
Free Online Cybersecurity Events
As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, organizations are hosting online events for people and businesses to educate themselves on staying safe and protected online.
Check your local community, university/college, or library to discover what events they’re hosting this month.
Here are few free online events I discovered :
Tuesday Tech Talk Webinars
A four-part series of 45-minute cybersecurity webinars on Tuesday afternoons (Central Time) hosted by the University of Chicago. The first talk in the series is Always Be Vigilant: Cybercriminals never stop – Neither can we!
The webinars are free, but preregistration is required.
Date: Every Tuesday in October 2022
Week 1: Building a Foundation of Security
A pre-recorded 14-minute webinar from the Cybercrime Support Network features Jenny Grounds and Robert Burda discussing five steps to improve your online security. Burda highlights issues with social media, privacy settings, and what you share online.
The free captioned Building a Foundation of Security webinar is available on YouTube.
Cybersecuring America: A United Mission
Government leaders and industry executives will discuss their mission to cybersecure America.
Speakers include Nitin Natarajan, Deputy Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Steven Kelly, Senior Director for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technology, National Security Council, and others.
The October 6, 2022 Cybersecuring America online event is free, requires preregistration.
Symposium on Ethical Hacking
Learn about ethical hacking and the importance of teaching cybersecurity concepts as a foundational component of computing and information professionals’ training at the free, half-day Symposium on Ethical Hacking.
Hosted by the Marquette Center for Data, Ethics, and Society and the Center for Cyber Security Awareness and Cyber Defense, the event is free and open to the public.
The symposium is a hybrid event; you can attend in person or remotely.
Join Olivia Liddell, solution architect at Amazon, as she talks about teaching and leading with a security-first mindset.
In addition, there will be two panel discussions:
- Practitioner panel discussion on penetration testing and bug bounty programs
- Education panel discussion on education and training for ethical hackers
A collaborative discussion on further interaction between corporate and academic stakeholders will end the symposium.
Date: October 6, 2022 from 9:00pm to noon Central Time, requires preregistration.
#CyberChat Twitter Chat
Join @StaySafeOnline on October 12, 2022 at 2:00PM Eastern Time for a Twitter chat about passwords, password managers, multi-factor authentication, software updates, and phishing.
Share practical tips for people to keep safe online and share your organization’s educational information and resources.
Contact jennifer@staysafeonline.org to receive the Twitter Chat questions in advance.
Find other events at Stay Safe Online or searching online for the #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth or #BeCyberSmart hashtags.
Wrapping Up
Take the time during Cybersecurity Awareness Month to protect against cyber vulnerabilities at home and at work.
Do your part to learn how to keep yourself and your business safe online.
I’m always interested in learning how to be cyber smart, I’ve signed up for the Tech Tuesday webinars from the University of Chicago.
Which Cybersecurity Awareness Month events or webinars do you plan to attend?
