October picked for Cybersecurity Awareness Month

It is surprising just how many people are unaware that October has been designated Cybersecurity Awareness Month. We have become dependent on the Internet and computer systems in our everyday lives. Current cybersecurity practices are highly inadequate.

Some have said that cybersecurity practitioners have simply forgotten about the users. Cybersecurity efforts are viewed as inhibiting users from doing what they feel they need to do. When it comes to users, cybersecurity practitioners need to view users as much more than just an account or a set of user names and passwords. Users must become a partner, and also a source of cyber threat intelligence. After all, users are on the front line each and every day.

It's essential that we do a much better job of making the general user population aware of the cybersecurity threats they face on a regular basis. It can’t just be this month. We must keep this in the front of users on a regular basis – perhaps monthly. Think about how dynamic this field is and how frequently new tricks and techniques appear.

Some suggestions are.

• Encourage users to report strange e-mails they receive, and make them feel part of the solution.
• Keep cybersecurity in the minds of users by using an internal security marketing campaign.
• When a cybersecurity incident occurs, stop beating the user over the head when he or she makes a mistake.

Taking these three steps will not make all the security challenges we face go away. However, they will put the users on your side.