National Cybersecurity month begins!

It all comes together in October – National Cybersecurity Month! In our new Next-Generation Education initiative we have partnered with several universities and schools in our region to raise awareness of cybersecurity and social media use risks among high school and college students. While this is a year-long effort, a large part of it culminates during National Cybersecurity month. Our Next-Generation Education initiative has involved events and presentations at several prominent educational institutions such as Nova Southeastern University, North Broward Preparatory School, Gwinnett Technical College, i2 Labs, Miami-Dade College, Palm Beach State College, and we are in the planning phase with many more.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that this October, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is commemorating its 15^th year as an annual initiative to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. NCSAM 2018 is a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online, while increasing the resiliency of the Nation during cyber-threats. 24By7Security is proud to be playing a role in this important initiative.

Answering the question in the title, yes, Cyber Hygiene is still a focal point of all such educational initiatives on Cybersecurity. The STOP. THINK. CONNECT. ™ Campaign is a national public awareness campaign aimed at increasing the understanding of cyber threats and empowering the American public to be safer and more secure online.

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There are other times of the year, such as Data Privacy Day, celebrated in January, that keep the emphasis on security and privacy. Being CyberAware is a responsibility that all of us have and must fulfill to the best of our abilities.

Watch our Cyber Hygiene video!

Here are 15 tips for adults, teens and children to follow and to stay safe online:

Maintain strong passwords.
Do not share passwords. Do not repeat passwords across applications.
Be careful when using public Wi-fi and use a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Use multi factor authentication whenever possible.
Update your devices with security patches as soon as they are released.
Install anti-virus on all your computers.
Take advantage of privacy settings on social media accounts.
Never share or post private information on social media.
Verify that every email is not a phishing attack by checking the link and source of the link.
Configure security settings properly on all devices. Never leave devices without password protection.
Use encryption on your devices whenever possible.
If your device and/ or cell service provider offer the option, set tracking on your device and also make sure you know how to remotely wipe the data from your device in case it is lost or stolen.
Do not connect to unknown people on social media.
Take regular backups of your data.
Get credit protection from a known agency for the whole family.

While there are no guarantees, following these best practices for cyber hygiene is likely to help protect you and help you recover quickly in case you are a victim of a cyber attack.