If you’re looking for practical ways to observe Cybersecurity Awareness Month, you’re in the right place. In this article, we go beyond what it means for employees to start staying safe online and avoid cyber threats. We dive into what Cyber Security Awareness Month is all about, what the 2022 theme is, and how you can carry out this year’s theme through practical applications that will benefit your entire business.
What is Cybersecurity Awareness Month?
Cybersecurity Awareness Month was started in October 2004 and is observed every October. It is a collaborative observance between government and private industry entities – led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCA) – to help raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and to educate individuals to keep their personal data safe.
The goal of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is to empower individuals to keep their personal data safe, but the application goes for businesses as well because many of the practices can be used by individuals and organizations.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 Theme
The 2022 theme is “See Yourself in Cyber.”
CISA explains this theme well:
[It] demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people. This October will focus on the “people” part of cybersecurity, providing information and resources to help educate CISA partners and the public, and ensure all individuals and organizations make smart decisions whether on the job, at home or at school – now and in the future.
This theme makes it clear that everyone has a part to play in cybersecurity. Cybersecurity isn’t just up to cybersecurity professionals or the IT department. It’s for every individual, regardless of your tech savviness or professional role.
Behaviors to Adopt During Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022
According to NCA, everyone is encouraged to focus on these four key behaviors during this Cybersecurity Awareness Month:
- Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Using strong passwords and a password manager
- Updating software
- Recognizing and reporting phishing
Cybersecurity Awareness Month Ideas to Support Your Business
MFA Ideas
Many organizations don’t implement MFA because employees don’t want to deal with the extra hassle. To make it easier on your employees while increasing your cybersecurity, try these tips:
- Get leaders on board first. Any leaders who won’t follow through with MFA will likely not enforce it with their direct reports, which can cause cybersecurity and team issues.
- Survey employees early on. Implementing MFA typically fails when you meet employee resistance, so survey them about the prospect of implementing MFA way before you start implementing it. Use their feedback to address their resistance and answer their questions. Aim for acceptance before moving forward.
- Give users the choice to choose how to use MFA. Giving employees the option to use MFA the way they would prefer, such as using a security key or receiving a code through SMS, gives them ownership over using MFA. It also helps you get buy-in and reduce resistance.
Password Ideas
You’ve heard the best practices before: change passwords frequently, never reuse a password, and create uncommon passwords that combine letters and numbers. To make it easier on your employees while increasing your cybersecurity, try these tips:
- Implement a company-wide password manager. The biggest challenges employees face when it comes to passwords are remembering them and changing them according to company policy. Password managers get rid of the need to remember multiple passwords – they usually require just one master password – and they can generate unique, complex passwords for every account, solving both problems well. Password managers also help employees safely share passwords as needed and revoke access when employees leave. Just make sure your IT department can help get employees back into their password manager account if they forget their master password.
- Implement Single Sign-On. Depending on your organization’s structure and cybersecurity policy, you may want to implement Single Sign-On, which can help streamline many of the challenges employees face when using MFA and remembering passwords. Single Sign-Ons have a more streamlined experience than a password manager for your employees but also require more setup and maintenance from your IT department.
Software Ideas
Many people are unaware that software and applications that are not kept up-to-date can cause risk within the business. This is because software and app companies create patches when they find holes and risks in their systems, and they share those patches (as well as performance enhancements) in updates. To make it easier on your employees while increasing your cybersecurity, try these tips:
- Educate your employees on why updating software is important. Most modern technology users are accustomed to updating their software for personal and work devices, but sometimes employees don’t understand why it’s important and may put it off – especially on a personal device with a full memory. A little education on the importance of software updates can help reduce risks on the devices accessing your company’s data. Don’t forget to teach employees how to spot fake update notifications.
- Turn on auto-update. The easiest way to ensure your employees update their software and apps is to turn on auto-update for them. Just be sure to tell them auto-update is set up, when to leave their devices on to implement the updates, and anything they need to click or do to ensure the updates occur promptly.
Phishing Ideas
Phishing education and training might be the most popular type of online safety training. Even so, cybercriminals learn new ways to scam your employees every day, so it’s important to stay vigilant. Here’s how:
- Educate your employees on how to identify and report phishing attempts. It’s equally important to train your employees on how to identify phishing attempts and test their proficiency as well as how to properly report and block them. Employees can report phishing attempts to your preferred email program as well as your IT team if you have a process in place for that.
- Develop an Incident Response Plan. This plan lays out how to measure testing results, what to do when employees fail testing, and how to implement remedial training. It should also lay out how your employees will report phishing attempts – will they forward emails to a specific email address or fill out a specific form? Lay out the plan and then help your employees carry it out.
Bonus Tip: Implement a Security Operations Center
Every business needs a Security Operations Center (SOC) that runs 24/7 to manage threat detection and response in real time.
It takes a lot of people, processes, and technology to implement a SOC, so we want to make it easy for you. Outsource your SOC needs to our team of cybersecurity experts. Learn more about our SOC services.