Protect Your Digital Life: Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is a time of pumpkins, apples, and, of course, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCAM). This year marks its 21st anniversary.

This event gets bigger every year—which makes sense given the ever-increasing number of data breaches and cyberattack headlines we read regularly. The need to raise awareness of these threats and reduce the risk of them affecting us has never been greater.

This year’s theme, "Secure Your Digital Life," encourages everyone to be proactive about safeguarding their digital presence with some key tips to help you stay safe online and make smart cybersecurity decisions.

Many of these are simple measures you can take today to protect yourself from cyber threats and digital attacks.

CISA’s Key Tips:

1. Use strong, unique passwords with multi-factor authentication (MFA) when available
   
   There’s no doubt that multiple passwords are a pain to manage, but the reality is they are our main line of defense, so it’s important to protect them. Just like your toothbrush (hopefully!), don’t share a password, make it unique to you, and change it when it’s no longer fit for purpose. A strong password, along with multi-factor authentication where available, really helps. 
   
   In the future, the expansion of secure biometric authentication options will reduce our reliance on passwords and provide a great user experience.
2. Recognize and report phishing attempts
   
   Bad actors continue to use phishing as a major weapon against us, and sadly, the reason is because it’s been successful. As ever, if you receive an unexpected email asking you to click on a link, download software, or open an attachment, use caution, especially if they are pushing you to do it urgently or asking for sensitive information.
   
   The same applies to suspicious text messages you receive, especially if they randomly start appearing from a senior member of your organization, such as the CEO.
   
   In my experience, it’s better to take a conservative approach to this common scam—e.g., delete or ignore the message and report it to your information security team.
3. Keep your software up to date
   
   Whether it’s your operating system or an application you use every day or once a year, if there’s an update, install it promptly rather than ignoring it. Most software will prompt you to install or allow you to set a time when it’s convenient for you to install. Just be sure to save your files in case there’s a reboot required for the updated software to take effect.

What Does Advisor360° Do for NCAM?

At Advisor360°, we view National Cybersecurity Awareness Month as an opportunity to reinforce the role we all play in building our cybersecurity resiliency. Cybersecurity truly is a team sport, and it’s something we prioritize throughout the year, not just in October.

Whether it’s creating secure coding challenges, educational sessions, simulating attacks, or providing insight into some of our capabilities, it’s all part of strengthening our risk-aware culture.

Final Thoughts

In our ever-connected digital world, the need to remain vigilant and follow these key tips continues to grow. By doing so, we not only help secure our digital lives but also minimize the risk of becoming the next cybercrime statistic. Enjoy your pumpkin latte and apple picking, folks!

More information on CISA and National Cybersecurity Awareness Month resources is available here.

Alex Cunningham is senior vice president and chief information security officer at Advisor360°. He leads the information security team in protecting the Advisor360° enterprise, and keeping all company and client data and infrastructure safe.