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3 min read

Why Cybersecurity Awareness Month Matters for Your Business

With cybersecurity being a primary focus for businesses across the globe, it’s hugely important for employees and enterprises to take note of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Every year during the month of October, international agencies and governments endorse this educational month, providing a wealth of resources for end-users globally.

Whilst your managed service provider will be able to review, maintain, revitalise and administer your security protocols, it’s equally essential to remain informed around cybersecurity issues on an individual level. Good cyber hygiene is the central pillar for remaining safe online, and no user should underestimate the essentiality of maintaining good security practices.

The Origins of Cybersecurity Awareness Month

 

Cybersecurity Awareness Month was first announced and established by the US Government in 2004; a collaboration between both the private and public sectors, this month is dedicated to raising awareness around digital security, empowering IT users to protect their personal data from criminals.

In the US, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) lead this effort, establishing communication and collaboration between the government and private firms. They aim to build cybersecurity awareness both nationally in the US, and internationally around the globe.

There is also a sister endeavour centred in the EU; the European Cybersecurity Month (#CyberSecMonth) which was established in 2012 by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) alongside partner Commissions and Member States. This campaign is aimed specifically at ‘promoting cybersecurity among EU citizens and organisations and providing up-to-date online security information through awareness raising activities and sharing of good practices’.

With both the European and International cybersecurity months occurring in October, every year there are a wealth of cyber resources available for educating and developing business and individual cybersecurity awareness. Across the globe thousands of organisations take place in events, including conferences, workshops, training sessions, webinars, presentations and more, all aimed at promoting digital security and cyber hygiene.

Every year the Cybersecurity Awareness Months are built around a theme, as we’ll explore in more detail.

Cybersecurity Themes for 2022

 

This year’s theme as established by the CISA is ‘See Yourself in Cyber’. This theme was chosen as ‘while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people’. As highlighted previously, oftentimes good cybersecurity practice comes down to the individual user - maintaining data security and online privacy comes down to issues such as password hygiene, awareness around cyber scams, and maintaining system updates.

In the EU, ENISA have opted to focus on two key areas related to hacking - ‘phishing’ and ‘ransomware’. As explained by the organisation, they’ve opted to focus on these key areas due to the notable increase in cyber-attacks induced by the coronavirus pandemic. As more and more people take their work and lives online, cybercriminals are exploiting users’ vulnerabilities and poor cyber hygiene.

The primary goals of the EU Cybersecurity 2022 campaign are to ensure that end-users and organisations become and remain well informed on the potential risks they face online, and that they’re able to stay safe as a result of such educational pushes. ENISA hopes to provide EU and international end-users gain a basic understanding of the multitude of online security and privacy threats.

The CISA have shared their top tips for Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022, which closely align with the messaging shared by ENISA. They highlight:

 

  • Recognise and Report Phishing: Ensure links look authentic and reliable, otherwise they may contain links to malware. 
  • Update Your Software: Always update systems and software when prompted, as this keeps your systems secure and up-to-date - consider turning on automatic updates.
  • Use Strong Passwords: Passwords must be complicated and contain a mixture of letters, numbers and special characters. Don’t keep passwords written in accessible locations, as they may fall into the wrong hands.
  • Enable Multi-Factor Authentication: At Fitzrovia IT we frequently highlight the importance of MFA, as this is key to protecting your data from hackers or those with access to your password.

Cybersecurity for your Business

 

To ensure your business remains digitally secure and your data remains protected, it’s essential to regularly review and update your security policy. If you’re yet to do so, your business should utilise the services provided by your managed services IT partner; bringing in the support of an IT expert will undoubtably streamline and expedite your business’ journey to ultimate IT security.

As highlighted by ENISA in their European Cybersecurity Month slogan, ‘cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. It’s key to collaborate and grow in tandem with educational institutions and partnered service providers; businesses must unite in the face of increased cybercrime, implementing strong cybersecurity policy across the board.

At Fitzrovia IT we believe in close collaboration with our partners and clients to provide the gold standard in cybersecurity services. Our experts provide all-encompassing security services - being able to conduct thorough security reviews, penetration tests, and implement and maintain new security measures. Our IT helpdesk is also available 24/7 as part of our tiered Fitz Managed Security Services (Fitz MSS) packages, providing cybersecurity support when your need it.

To organise a security review of your business, or to simply discuss your cybersecurity policy moving forward, contact one of our expert cybersecurity team today.

 

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