October Is Cyber Security Awareness Month

The US Cybersecurity Awareness Month begins in October, and it aims to raise awareness about digital security and empower everyone to protect their personal data from digital forms of crime. The month is dedicated to creating communications for organisations to talk to their employees and customers about staying safe online.

This month is a collaboration between government and the private sector with the aim to raise their awareness of digital cyber security and it aims to help people to protect their personal data from digital forms of crime and hacking. This is the 19th year of Cybersecurity Awareness Month

According to the latest figures from the ONS, the proportion of cyber-related fraud incidents increased to 61% from 53% in the year ending March 2020. This suggests that much of the increase in fraud offences were due to a rise in cyber-related fraud and may be related to behavioural changes during the pandemic and increased online activity. However, phishing activity hasn’t stopped there. 

• Research by Interisle Consulting shows that phishing attacks have risen by 61% over the past year to more than one million and the importance of educating employees on spotting a phishing attack and general cybersecurity awareness has never been greater. Educating employees on cybersecurity awareness training should be refreshed yearly and shouldn’t wait until a data breach has occurred. 

• Research by the World Economic Forum has revealed that 59% of cyber leaders said they would find it challenging to respond to a cybersecurity incident due to the skills shortage within their team. 

With the skills gap in cyber security, it’s evident that organisations remain at risk in protecting their infrastructures. While businesses should have robust security systems in place, a compliant culture should exist throughout the company to reduce risk. 

It shouldn’t just depend on an organisation’s IT or security professionals to protect the company against cyber threats. Cyber security requires accountability from all employees, and the workers will only understand this if they are trained on its importance and know how to act. 

StaySafeOnline:     Interisle:     WEF:    

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