Cybersecurity Awareness Month takes place every October. It is a month dedicated to raising cybersecurity awareness, educating your employees on how to better protect the organization, and ultimately creating a stronger cybersecurity culture.
The theme for 2021 by the National Cyber Security Alliance is “Do your part. #BeCyberSmart.” This year, that theme is more relevant than ever because not only has technology made its way into every corner of our personal lives, but with remote working, the boundaries between work and home life have all but eroded.
While technology has brought about many benefits, this embedding of technology has allowed cybercriminals access into our homes, our offices and even our deepest, most personal thoughts. That is why cybersecurity awareness is so important. With cybercriminals targeting your organization, technology alone will not be sufficient.
We are living in a time where doorbells spy on people, nanny cams scare children, online entertainment is digitally streamed and threat actors send emails which contain a link that can cripple an entire multi-million dollar global organization. It is an unprecedented time for cybersecurity and we all need to do our part to keep safe. Everyone needs to do their part. This does not necessarily mean that everyone needs to become a cybersecurity expert, but it does mean that we need to increase awareness of the risks that your users face so that they are not caught off guard when they are targeted.
October gives us the perfect opportunity to springboard our efforts to bring cybersecurity awareness to the masses. But with so many topics to choose from, it can become overwhelming as to where we can start from in our awareness journey. Fortunately, there are many examples and templates out there. We created a cybersecurity awareness month resource kit, which features not just free resources for your users, but helpful resources for you including a guide and an interactive weekly planner advising when the resources should be made available to users.
If you and your users takeaway anything from this holiday, remember that cybersecurity awareness should not be restricted to just one month a year. It is an ongoing effort and consistency is far more important than intensity. October should be used as the catalyst to get the motor running and keep propelling your activities forward.
Happy Cybersecurity Awareness Month from all of us at KnowBe4! Be sure to mention @KnowBe4 on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn with the #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth or #BeCyberSmart hashtag to show us how you’re educating your users.
