Cyber Awareness Month
October is National Cyber Security Awareness month, or NCSAM for short. It was launched by the National Cyber Security Alliance & the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in October 2004. Its purpose is to provide Americans with information to keep them safe while browsing the internet and using electronic devices. This year marks the 16th annual observation of this cause, but many users still aren’t paying attention. The NCSAM theme for 2019 is Own IT, Secure IT, and Protect IT, where IT stands for Information Technology. In other words, all your online accounts and connected devices.
Own IT refers to understanding your digital profile, devices, and applications. This means adjusting privacy settings and understanding what data you are making accessible to others, keeping tabs on your apps or programs, removing the ones you do not use, and not clicking on malicious links that will expose your device or accounts to compromising sources.
Secure IT is all about best practices for settings and updates. Software updates should be set up to automatically install where possible. They often include patches that fix security holes known as vulnerabilities. Learning about the security features and understanding how to protect your devices and accounts is the best way to know how secure they are. Convert your passwords to passphrases to make them more secure and use multi-factor authentication everywhere possible. Password manager tools are also very useful for assigning and storing unique passphrases to all your accounts
Protect IT involves understanding external threats and routinely checking your devices, accounts, and settings to keep your information safe. Avoid open Wi-Fi networks when possible and double-check your settings routinely to make sure they are set up correctly. Also, check your updates, even if they are automatic, as malware has been known to shut off security updates and steal your information for as long as possible.
If you’re learning Cyber Security Awareness fro
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