Senate resolution recognizes October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month

A U.S. Senate resolution recently recognized October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2019.

This year’s theme is “Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT.” The goal is to emphasize personal accountability and to take proactive steps to enhance cybersecurity.

Key areas of focus this year are citizen privacy, consumer devices, and e-commerce security.

Every day, more than 10 million attempted cyberattacks are reported to the Pentagon, and 28 percent of cybercrimes are committed by a current or former business partner, contractor, or employee who has or previously had authorized access to an organization’s data, system, or network.

The public is reminded to minimize cybercrime by setting strong passwords, installing system updates, understanding privacy settings, and thinking critically and carefully about online offers. Public Wi-Fi hotspots may expose anyone connected to the network to a cyberattack.

By 2022, there will be approximately 1.8 million unfilled cybersecurity positions worldwide and
310,000 in the United States.

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a collaborative effort between government and industry with the goals of raising awareness about the importance of cybersecurity, hosting events and initiatives, ensuring the public and private sector have the tools and resources needed to be safer and more secure online, and increase the nation’s resilience in the event of a cyber incident.