Cyber Security Awareness Month- All You Need to Know
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) observes October as Cyber Security Awareness Month. This tradition is almost over two decades old, started in 2004 by the President and Congress.
Small to medium businesses often wonder what role they can play in cybersecurity awareness month.
Tekkis Cybersecurity always strives to protect its users and educate everyone on the importance of cybersecurity. In a bid to make IT networks a safer environment, this article will discuss in detail what is cybersecurity awareness month and how businesses should make use of it and contribute to it.
What is Cyber Security Awareness Month?
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is observed in October to raise knowledge among businesses and people about the importance of cybersecurity practices.
There is a high dependence on cyber infrastructure, and it is only increasing day by day. Therefore, ti is vital that users know how to access the internet safely without causing harm to themselves or the organization.
The importance of cybersecurity awareness has risen considerably in the last few years due to the exponential rise of cyberattacks on American businesses. While cybersecurity awareness month lasts for 30 days, the knowledge gained during this time should be applied all year round.
What Should Businesses Do in This Cyber Awareness Month?
Every year, CISA puts out a list of guidelines that individuals and organizations should follow to maintain at least the minimum layer of protection. We will go through these recommendations one by one.
It is important to note that while these recommendations can be enough for individuals, they do not even cover the minimum basic for organizations and businesses. To know about what steps your business can take for optimal cybersecurity, speak to our expert right away.
Protect Against Phishing
Phishing attacks have been around for a while, but even so many people (including business executives) commonly fall prey to them. In phishing attacks, the attacker tries to gain confidential information such as usernames and passwords by imitating a trustworthy source.
These attacks most commonly come through emails and social media messages. These messages contain a link that might seem authentic but leads to the attacker's website designed to gain your data.
CISA recommends that users should be made aware of how to recognize these types of attacks. We have a detailed guide on how to identify phishing attacks for you.
Report Phishing Attacks
Protecting yourself against phishing is important, but it is also crucial to report the attack so some action can be taken. CISA provides an easy way to report phishing attacks whenever you face one.
Software Updates
Every type of software has certain open loops that attackers use as exploits. Whenever these loops are found, the software developers release updates to fix them at the earliest. Therefore, it is important that you keep your software up to date at all times.
As a business, it is also important to ensure that all the software you use are reliable and trustworthy. This is accomplished through regular IT audits that evaluate your current security status based on the devices and software you use. Tekkis can provide a detailed IT Audit Report for your business compiled by industry experts.
Strong Passwords
The importance of strong passwords is something that most users already know. Even so, a majority of people (even including C-level executives) use the simplest passwords just because they are easy to remember. That is one of the most unhealthy cyber security practices.
To comply with cyber awareness month, start by replacing your easy passwords with strong ones that contain a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and characters. In a free consultation with our expert, you can learn about how to implement a secure password policy for your business.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
In recent years, multi-factor authentication has become a must-have in the login process for most applications. If you or your staff members are not using multi-factor authentication, cyber awareness month is a good example that it is time to change that.
Multi-factor authentication adds extra layers of security blankets around your user accounts for the software and services you use. In case the password is breached for any account, multi-factor authentication will still prevent the attacker from logging into that account.
Additional Things to Consider
If you are an executive in any industry, one thing to note is that cyber awareness isn’t just limited to you. It is important that you impart this awareness among your staff as well. Even your business cyber security measures will prevail as long as your staff knows about basic cyber security etiquette.
Get in touch with Tekkis today to find out how you can train your staff in the best way possible. Some practices, such as phishing protection, only work if every member of your team is aware of it.