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Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 – Become a Champion!

Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 – Become a Champion!

Created: Monday, October 3, 2022 - 20:28
Categories:
Cybersecurity, Security Preparedness

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a global effort to help everyone stay safe and protected when using technology whenever and however you connect. Cybersecurity Awareness Month is co-led by the National Cyber Security Alliance and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Cybersecurity Awareness Month is designed to engage and educate public and private-sector partners through events and initiatives with the goal of raising awareness about cybersecurity to increase the resiliency of the nation in the event of a cyber incident. Now in its 19th year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month continues to build momentum and impact with the ultimate goal of providing everyone with the information they need to stay safer and more secure online.

Every organization is invited to demonstrate its support for Cybersecurity Awareness Month by becoming a Champion. This year, WaterISAC joins (its own Champion) Gate 15, fellow ISACs/ISAOs, other water and wastewater utilities, and other water sector entities as a Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 Champion Organization.

Fellow ISACs/ISAOs include:

  • Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC)
  • Faith-Based ISAO (FB-ISAO)
  • Financial Services ISAC (FS-ISAC)
  • Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Health-ISAC)
  • Information Technology ISAC (IT-ISAC)
  • National Credit Union ISAO (NCU-ISAO)
  • Real Estate ISAC (RE-ISAC)
  • Research & Education Networks Information Sharing & Analysis Center (REN-ISAC)
  • Retail & Hospitality ISAC (RH-ISAC)
  • Tribal-ISAC

Water and wastewater utilities/organizations (but may not be limited to):

  • California Water Environment Association
  • City of Garland Water Utilities
  • Clayton County Water Authority
  • Irvine Ranch Water District
  • Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority
  • McMinnville Water & Light
  • Placer County Water Agency
  • State of California / Department of Water Resources
  • Toho Water Authority
  • Water Environment Federation

Becoming a Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champion (National Cybersecurity Alliance) or partner (CISA) provides you with ready-made resources and a toolkit to demonstrate your support. Most importantly it includes a presentation and other content to share with your employees for security awareness training and reminders.

See Yourself In Cyber

The theme for 2022 is, “See Yourself In Cyber.” Additionally, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is changing up its typical approach of weekly themes and instead focusing on four behaviors that are most important to #BeCyberSmart and stay safe online. While cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, “See Yourself in Cyber” epitomizes the idea of the human side of cyber and how we all share responsibility. This October will focus on the “people” part of cybersecurity to ensure all individuals and organizations make smart decisions personally and professionally. The behaviors that will be highlighted during the month include:

Cybersecurity is Everyone’s Responsibility

Everyone has a responsibility to do their part in securing our interconnected world. If everyone does their part – implementing stronger security practices, raising community awareness, educating vulnerable audiences, or training employees – our interconnected world will be safer and more resilient for everyone. Whether your utility is, or becomes, a Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 Champion Organization or not, consider participating in the 2022 Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaign by highlighting and emphasizing this year’s behaviors (enabling multi-factor authentication, using strong passwords and a password manager, updating software, and recognizing and reporting phishing) with your employees as part of your cybersecurity awareness and training programs.

Resources