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Press Release

Protecting Utah

October 2021 Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Monday October 4, 2021

Now in its 18th year, Cybersecurity Awareness Month continues to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity across our Nation. Held every October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure everyone in the Nation has the resources they need to be safer and more secure online. 

DO YOUR PART. #BECYBERSMART. 

Every year, led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), Cybersecurity Awareness Month conveys a clear message of the importance of partnership between government and industry, from the White House to the individual. 

The evergreen theme—Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.—encourages individuals and organizations to own their role in protecting their part of cyberspace, stressing personal accountability and the importance of taking proactive steps to enhance cybersecurity. 

WEEKLY MESSAGES 

To help you and your organizations create an effective cybersecurity awareness campaign, CISA and NCSA have created four weekly themes to focus on during Cybersecurity Awareness Month: 

Week 1: Be Cyber Smart

The first week explores cybersecurity fundamentals: how simple actions can help secure your digital lives, improve the security of smart and internet-connected devices, and how other fundamentals can help reduce cyber risks. 

https://dpsnews.utah.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month-2021-multi-factor-authentication/

Week 2:

Fight the Phish! The second week will focus on how individuals can spot potential phishing attempts—which often lead to  vulnerabilities that can result in ransomware or other types of malware. It will offer tips on how individuals can reduce their chances of falling victim to phishing attacks—either by reporting or deleting suspicious activities—as well as how to respond to and recover from them.

https://dpsnews.utah.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month-2021-phishing-and-spoofing/

• Week 3:

Explore. Experience. Share. In partnership with the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), the third week celebrates Cybersecurity Career Awareness Week. This week will illustrate how cybersecurity professionals play a vital role in global society and security and call attention to their contributions and innovations. This week also showcases how building a global cybersecurity workforce enhances each nation’s security and promotes economic prosperity. 

• Week 4:

Cybersecurity First The final week will emphasize that cybersecurity should be a priority and not an afterthought and will examine how what we do today can affect the future of personal, consumer, and business cybersecurity. This week will also highlight how cybersecurity is a year-round effort and should be an individual’s or organization’s first considerations when they create or buy new devices and connected services. 

This month especially, we ask that you don’t treat cybersecurity as a taboo topic: talk to others about how to “Be Cyber Smart” and be sure to share Cybersecurity Awareness Month resources throughout your community—with your friends, family, and coworkers. By doing so, we can all make huge strides in protecting our devices. 

Use the Cybersecurity Awareness Month hashtag #BeCyberSmart, to help promote cybersecurity awareness. Also, be sure to keep checking the website to learn more about upcoming Cybersecurity Awareness Month efforts in October.

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MEDIA CONTACT

Hillary Koellner
Director of Public Affairs
Department of Public Safety
hmkoellner@utah.gov

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