Secure Our World: Join Us in Celebrating Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Cybersecurity Awareness Month, held annually in October, is a vital international initiative designed to raise awareness about the importance of being safe and secure online. This year’s theme, “Secure Our World,” continues from 2023 and highlights simple yet effective ways for individuals, families, and businesses to protect themselves from cyber threats.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) leads the federal efforts for this campaign. They work closely with the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA), known for their @staysafeonline initiative, to develop and disseminate resources that educate the public on key cybersecurity practices.
Cybersecurity Tips
Here are some essential tips provided from this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign:
- Recognize and Report Phishing: Learn to identify phishing attempts by familiarizing yourself with their common indicators, such as suspicious links or unexpected attachments. Resist the urge to click on these and ensure you delete phishing messages promptly.
- Use Strong Passwords: Enhance your account security by choosing passwords that are long, random, and unique. This trifecta helps protect against unauthorized access.
- Turn On Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Activate MFA on all your accounts, including email, social media, and financial services. This adds an extra layer of security, making it significantly harder for cybercriminals to gain access.
- Update Software: Keeping your devices updated with the latest security patches is crucial. If automatic updates are not available, regularly check for updates to ensure your software is secure.
Throughout October, stay engaged and increase your cybersecurity awareness by visiting the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies (NICCS) Cybersecurity Awareness Month page for resources and tools. You can also follow updates using the #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth on social media.
Cybersecurity Resources
Safe Systems is also providing resources to help raise cybersecurity awareness, knowledge, and understanding for our community banks and credit unions.
Please explore some of our latest offerings:
- M365 Immersion Training – Register for this complimentary, four-part series on Microsoft 365 (M365) security. Led by certified engineers, it covers essential topics including Conditional Access Policies (CAPs), Intune management, Azure AI governance, and more. Each session delivers practical insights and actionable knowledge, ensuring robust security practices for institutions using M365 core technologies. Reserve your spot.
- MFA Quiz – When implemented correctly, MFA can be the single most effective tool to protect against remote attacks. Test your knowledge of how MFA works and why it is so important.
- Cybersecurity Outlook Survey – We surveyed community banks and credit unions to gain more insight into their cybersecurity challenges, priorities, best practices, and how they manage cybersecurity preparedness. Discover their responses.
For more resources, visit our Resource Center, blog site, or our interactive Compliance Guru platform which provides reliable answers to your IT, cybersecurity, and information security questions. You can also follow us on our social media channels – Facebook and LinkedIn for timely news and helpful articles throughout the year.
When it comes to investing in security, Safe Systems understands that protecting your community bank or credit union can be complex and confusing. That’s why we offer multi-layered security solutions to protect vulnerability points both inside and outside your network and we have certified engineers who specialize in Microsoft cloud security.
Please join us this month in raising awareness and taking advantage of the many available resources to help your institution secure its digital environment and prevent cyber threats.