NCSAM Recap: What Cyber Security Awareness Month Means All Year Long

Posted by Eva Velasquez, CEO, Identity Theft Resource Center

National Cyber Security Awareness Month comes around every fall, but every year it brings with it new information, new warnings to be heeded, and new threats to avoid when it comes to protecting our information.

NCSAM has always broken down our safety into four categories based on how the threat can manifest—home, work, school, and community—and this year is no different. On the home front, resources took on topics like cyber bullying of both adults and kids, how to stay safe while online gaming, how to raise kids who are already digital citizens, and more. Workplace topics focused on developing actionable tech behaviors and making sure employees were fully trained on those steps, among other things. Schools were encouraged to adopt C-SAVE initiatives and bring in volunteers to speak with students and faculty alike about internet and data safety, while StaySafeOnline posted a wealth of NCSAM resources that can be printed, displayed, or otherwise shared with members of your community.

One of the most interesting additions to this year’s observance was the focus on getting more people involved in information security. NCSAM devoted one week to encouraging people, especially those who are preparing for college, to look into cyber security careers to meet the desperation-level need for more IT professionals in business and government. NPower, Inc.’s VP of Strategic Partnerships spoke at a webinar hosted by Symantec in order to discuss this important career field and the need for more qualified professionals.

Symantec also offered a host of other resources for NCSAM, including a weekly webcast and blog series like “Today’s Predictions for Tomorrow’s Connected World” and “Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threat.” Other resources posted this month included a simple online safety webinar—an ideal way to spend a little bit of time with your loved ones the next time you get together for a family event—and a workplace safety guide.  Symantec also hosted its first annual Higher Ed Cyber Security Challenge, where  higher ed institution cyber/IT staff/faculty not only participated in the real-life scenario’s to think like an adversary but also  earned continuing education credits.

Cyber criminals are not only continuing to wage war on information and data security, they’re finding new ways to do it every day. By arming members of the public with accurate information and actionable steps, though, we can work to reduce the damaging effects of this kind of crime.