“Seeing Yourself in Cyber”
Since the 2004 declaration by the President of the United States and Congress, we dedicate each October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The annual campaign is sponsored through a conjoined effort between the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) — providing support from both the federal government and private industry organizations.
Every year, CISA and the NCA seek to use October to raise awareness of cybersecurity best practices and promote the industry as a solid career path. Cybersecurity Awareness Month is THE time to become educated on crucial cybersecurity terminology, risks, and opportunities, through a blitz of advertising campaigns, workshops, published online resources, and even a dedicated cybersecurity career week.
In addition to all the October events and published materials each year, CISA and the NCA prioritize a specific focus within the cybersecurity realm. This year, the theme is “See Yourself in Cyber.” In this article, we’ll cover what that theme means from various perspectives and why it’s vital for achieving cybersecurity success.
What Does it Mean to “See Yourself in Cyber”
This year’s theme promotes the idea that everyone can and should have a stake in cybersecurity — regardless of your profession, job position, or role cyber plays in your life. For instance, while browsing the internet or using your favorite applications, CISA and NCA want you to “See Yourself” taking action by following best practices such as:
- Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) on your applications
- Using strong password management like lengthy character counts with multiple character types and storing them in a secure password tool
- Keeping your software applications updated
- Avoiding suspicious websites when browsing the internet and obscure links in email messages
Additionally, CISA and NCA are encouraging you to “See Yourself” in a cybersecurity career to satisfy the growing demand for labor and talent in the cybersecurity workforce. They’ll use this month to collaborate with organizations in the industry to find ways to fill in jobs and solve new challenges across the threat landscape.
One resource that promotes the career initiative is the Cyber Career Pathway Tool, which shows different job positions, paths to other roles, and on and off ramps people can take. There’s also a robust Cybersecurity Workforce Training Guide where you can browse tons of education modules by topic, skill level, and certifications.
Lastly, for cybersecurity practitioners, the theme wants you to “See Yourself” as the solution and promote collaboration amongst firms within the industry. This could mean sharing data that could improve security products or services and developing partnerships with complimentary businesses to better design solutions to mitigate organizational and customer data risks.
Importance of This Year’s Theme
“See Yourself in Cyber” expresses that despite cybersecurity’s technical complexities, it ends up being a “people” issue. Only through making smart decisions, taking the initiative, and creating new solutions can we solve today’s cyber challenges — all things that people have control over.
Keep in mind that a high majority (82%) of data breaches are caused by human error rather than a technology misconfiguration or technically-sophisticated hack. On top of that, people develop the software tools, frameworks, and processes that protect our technology assets.
Therefore, avoiding incidents comes down to individual users doing their part. Whether that be a person avoiding suspicious email links, an employee making the career switch into a cybersecurity field, or business leaders deciding to remove the competitive barrier between their organizations and collaborate to solve a problem — mitigating cyber risks happens by people for people.
Final Thoughts by Ascension Global Technology
While Cybersecurity Awareness Month is only advertised in October, the messaging should be understood and carried out for the entire year. Everyone has a stake in cybersecurity — whether it be their personal information, company data, or national security information. You must first “See Yourself” as a key stakeholder in the fight against malicious actors and cyber criminals, then take action.
Contact us to learn about all the solutions you could use to protect yourself and your business from today’s cyber threats. Also, be sure to check out our blog for industry updates, cybersecurity news, and valuable insights that can help your business understand and improve its security posture.
