The Final Countdown to Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023
Since 2004, the President of the United States and Congress have declared the month of October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, helping individuals protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) are working together to create resources and messaging for organizations to use when they talk with their employees and customers, and information for the public, about staying safe online.
2023 marks the 20th Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and this year CISA is launching a new theme that will encourage actions we can take, and online behaviors we can change, to reduce cyber risk not only during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but every day throughout the year.
The new theme will be announced in time for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. In the meantime, we encourage you to share the important actions and key messages below:
- Turn on multifactor authentication (MFA): You need more than a password to protect your online accounts, and enabling MFA makes you significantly less likely to get hacked.
- Use strong passwords: Use passwords that are long, unique, and randomly generated. Use password managers to generate and remember these unique passwords for each of your accounts. A password manager will encrypt passwords and secure them for you!
- Recognize & report phishing: If a link looks a little off, think before you click. It could be an attempt to get sensitive information or install malware.
- Update your software: Don’t delay – If you see a software update notification, act promptly. Better yet, turn on automatic updates.
The following materials will also be made available later this summer to help you promote your organization’s participation in Cybersecurity Awareness Month and create your own campaign:
· Partner Toolkit
· Tipsheets on the Four Key Behaviors
· Cybersecurity Awareness Month 101 Presentation
· Sample Social Media Posts & Graphics
· And More!
For more information, and to become a CISA Cybersecurity Awareness Month partner, contact us at AwarenessCampaigns@cisa.dhs.gov.