Every October we join hundreds of other organizations in observing National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM). During this month, we bring attention to current best practices for keeping our personal and professional data and systems safe from bad actors who would like nothing more than to steal our data and abuse our systems. This year’s themes were:
- Week 1: Use strong passwords and a password manager
- Week 2: Turn on multifactor authentication (MFA)
- Week 3: Recognize & report phishing
- Week 4: Update software
Click the links above for blog posts with more information on each of these topics.
October is when we publish new web-based cybersecurity training for faculty, staff, and students. This training is an annual requirement from our insurer and federal regulation for all staff and faculty.
All employees must complete this training by November 30.
As an incentive to complete this training on time, everyone who completes the training by the end of November will have a chance to win a $25 Bon Appetit gift card.
The training begins with a precheck that tests your current cybersecurity knowledge. You can test out of subjects by demonstrating mastery of the material. Most people find the training can be completed in no more than 30 minutes, but can take considerably less time depending on your performance on the precheck. Feel free to work as a team and in other ways encourage your colleagues to meet do this training and satisfy this important requirement.
During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we always hold a town hall. At this year’s meeting, Kendall George, our information security officer, reinforced current themes. He provided some examples of phishing and other cyberattacks targeting our community, data, and systems. He also discussed the threat and opportunity as both attackers and defenders employ the capabilities emerging from AI.
Cybersecurity is not just a responsibility for security professionals but a collective effort that everyone should actively participate in to create a safer and more secure online environment for all.
Thank you for doing your part in protecting Carleton!