This month is a time to focus on how cybersecurity is a part of everyone’s lives, and how each person has a responsibility to keep the Internet safer for all.
This October also marks the five year anniversary of the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign. In five years, Stop.Think.Connect. has spread the online safety message across the globe, primarily through its important partnerships with industry, government, non-profits, academia, and invidividuals. As a Friend of Stop.Think.Connect., you play an important role in promoting cybersecurity awareness in your homes, schools, work places, and communities. Thank you for supporting Stop.Think.Connect. and advocating for safer online behavior.
For National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2015, we are looking at how cyber impacts Americans in all aspects of their lives – at home, at school, at work, and on-the-go. Through this lens, we can more clearly recognize how cybersecurity is a “shared responsibility” for all. Whether it’s protecting their family from identity theft, protecting their workplaces from cyber attacks, or protecting their communities from cyber predators, everyone has a role to play in making the Internet safer for themselves and everyone.
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Technology is constantly evolving and improving. Thanks to the Internet and cyber technology, we can now bank from our phones, connect with people instantly from across the world, and accomplish a multitude of daily tasks from our mobile devices and computers. While a sophisticated suite of cyber tools and a wide range of cyber professionals work to protect our networks, there are simple steps anyone can take to do their part in making the Internet more secure: |
- Keep a clean machine. Keep the operating systems and software updated for all of your devices connected to the Internet – including laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices.
- Limit what you share online. Keep sensitive information about yourself private. Do not share your full name, birthdate, address, credit card or social security numbers. This is information that can threaten your physical security or lead to identity theft.
- Don’t believe everything you see. Be cautious about emails and messages from people you do not know. Don’t fall for offers of free things or winning money, they are typically scams to get you to click on malicious links or provide personal, sensitive information. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
For more information on how to protect yourself online, visit dhs.gov/StopThinkConnect.
