October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, as declared by President George W. Bush and Congress in 2004. Cybersecurity Awareness Month was created to help individuals protect themselves and their confidential data online. Each year, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) release a theme. This year’s slogan is “See Yourself in Cyber.”
According to their website:
This year’s campaign theme — “See Yourself in Cyber” — demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people . This October will focus on the “people” part of cybersecurity, providing information and resources to help educate CISA partners and the public, and ensure all individuals and organizations make smart decisions whether on the job, at home or at school – now and in the future. We encourage each of you to engage in this year’s efforts by creating your own cyber awareness campaigns and sharing this messaging with your peers.
They have four tips to follow to help everyone increase their protection of themselves online.
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
- Use Strong Passwords
- Recognize and Report Phishing
- Update Your Software
If you’d like more information on measures you can implement, check out the September 30 Lunch and Learn webinar, Recovering Lost Data and Safeguarding Sensitive Content, delivered by my colleague Miguel Guhlin. The recording is available for TCEA Members in the Recordings and Resources Group in the TCEA community.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month Toolkit
All schools and academic institutions can receive a Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 toolkit from CISA which includes the following resources:
- Ways to Create a Campaign
- Partner Toolkit
- Sample social media posts
- Sample email to send to employees
- Sample newsletter article
- Tip sheets
- Talking points
- Cybersecurity 101 presentation
- Presentation template
- Logos and graphics
Details can be found by emailing Cyberawareness@cisa.dhs.gov.
If you’re looking for even more information and resources, check out our previous TechNotes articles:
- Cybersecurity Month: Resources, Data, and Information for K-12 Settings (2022)
- October Is Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2020
- Cybersecurity Resources for Planning, Prevention, and Safeguarding Data
- Podcast: Digital Citizenship for Everyone | Ep. 3
- Five Cybersecurity Tips for Newbies
- Are You a Victim of Typosquatting?
- How You Can Adopt a Security Mindset
- Are Schools Easy Targets for Cyber Threats? The Latest Report Says “Yes”
- TCEA Responds: Google and Student Data
- Celebrating Digital Citizenship Week with Powerful Resources
- Student Online Life: Targeted Digital Citizenship Education
- A New Tool for Digital Citizenship
- Empowering Students Through Digital Citizenship and Social-Emotional Learning
