2024 National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month – a month-long effort to raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity and highlight security best practices. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is led by the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance and this year’s theme is “Secure Our World.”
The focus this year is to engage everyone in combating cyber threats by changing behaviors and creating healthy cyber habits. To help “Secure Our World,” there are four easy steps that everyone can take to stay safe online, protect their personal data, and make it harder for cybercriminals to succeed in their attacks.
- Recognize and Report Phishing
- Be constantly alert to potential threats such as unsolicited messages, requests for personal information, or credentials with unknown sources, and report suspicious messages immediately.
- Use Strong Passwords and a Password Manager
- Ensure that accounts are protected with strong passwords, including upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols, and use a password manager to help with the creation and secure storage of passwords.
- Enable Multifactor Authentication
- Protect accounts with more than just a password. Enable multifactor authentication on all online accounts, especially financial, email, and social media accounts.
- Keep Software Updated
- Ensure software is always running the latest version and install security patches promptly. Make a point of regularly checking for software updates if it is not possible to configure automatic updates.
A key focus of the month is to encourage individuals to adopt healthy cyber habits to reduce risk, but Cybersecurity Awareness Month is the perfect time for healthcare organizations to develop a plan for improving cybersecurity, such as adopting the voluntary HPH Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) that were announced by the Department of Health and Human Service earlier this year.
The healthcare CPGs are split into two sets of high-impact cybersecurity measures that were developed from CISA’s Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals and are specific to the healthcare sector. Adoption of the essential CPGs will help organizations to better protect against cyberattacks, improve their incident response when attacks occur, and minimize residual risk. Following the adoption of the essential CPGs, healthcare organizations can mature their cybersecurity capabilities by adopting the Enhanced CPGs, which include measures to protect against a broader range of attack vectors.
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