October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month – Get Involved!

It’s that time of the year again! The 20th annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign continues to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity across our nation and ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online. This October we are celebrating #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and to ensure all students, teachers, governments, organizations, friends, and families have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online. Be sure to check out cisa.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month throughout October for updates on Cybersecurity Awareness Month products and resources such as toolkits, social media posts, event information, and more.

We have joined forces with the National Cybersecurity Alliance (@StaySafeOnline), to bring you basic cybersecurity resources and best practices over the next four weeks. Throughout October, we will focus on the following action items in our promotions and outreach: 

• Use Strong Passwords and a Password Manager. Choose long, random, unique letters or phrases including all character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols). 
• Turn On Multifactor Authentication (MFA). Enable MFA on all your online accounts that offer it, especially email, social media, and financial accounts. Use authentication apps or hardware tokens for added security.  
• Recognize and Report Phishing Emails, Texts, and Calls. Be cautious of unsolicited messages and always verify the authenticity of requests by contacting the individual/organization through a trusted channel. 
• Ensure Your Software is Updated. Regularly check for updates and turn on automatic updates where available to keep operating systems and applications up to date.

Don’t forget to register to Be A Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champion – it is no-cost for individuals and organizations to sign up to receive free resources that will help you promote a better and more trusted internet. 

Thank you for your continued support and commitment to helping us all stay safe and secure online by following the focus steps outlined above over the next few weeks. We will be using the hashtag #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth to help promote cybersecurity awareness on our social media platforms – be sure to check them out as well!

• Twitter: @CISAgov, @CISACyber, @CISAJen
• Facebook: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• LinkedIn: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• Instagram: @CISAgov

If you have any questions, please email us NICCS@mail.cisa.dhs.gov or AwarenessCampaigns@cisa.dhs.gov for more information.