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Cybersecurity Month 2019 is Here!

With the holiday season approaching, any given October the internet bristles with advice on how to keep your data safe online and how to stay ahead of the latest trends in cyber crime. Welcome to Cyber Security Month!

What is the Cyber Security Month?

The Cyber Security Month is a project aiming at raising awareness for cyber security and cyber crime issues. The first European Cyber Security Month (ECSM) took place in eight European countries in 2012, supported by the European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) and the European Commission.

Each year, for every week in October a general topic is chosen and cyber security teams are invited to contribute events or small projects related to the respective subjects. The topics span large areas of the complex cyber security landscape, in the past covering the matters of ‘Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity at Work’, ‘Cyber Security in Banking and Governance’ or ‘Privacy and Data Protection’ to name just a few.

This years topics  Cyber Hygiene (Oct. 1-13) and Emerging Technology (Oct. 14-31) and the different events are aimed towards building a joint EU awareness campaign on Network and Information Security (NIS) topics. With the rise of credential stuffing and phishing attacks in the last years, especially events related to the former topic will help improving the overall safety of large networks.

Why is the CSM necessary?

As the campaign website for this year’s campaign states: Cyber security is a shared responsibility!

The cyber landscape is ever-changing and there is only so much you can do yourself to help others to prepare for the next global impact. But together, we can be the giants’ shoulders our users can stand on when the wave comes crushing.

So go ahead, get your CyberSecMonth badge, start sharing your expertise by setting up and registering an event for the Cyber Security Month 2019 and just spread the word about events and activities you really want your constituency to know about!

Where can I find more information?

There is  a campaign website that aides you in becoming an organizer for a dedicated European Cyber Security Month event and lets you browse all events listed so far. You can use the provided map to identify events near you or directly access the national campaign you are most interested in.

During Cyber Security Month in October 2019, the ENISA-operated twitter-account @CyberSecMonth will consolidate breaking news. You can use the hashtag #CyberSecMonth to get all the news from social media upfront and during the campaign. This hashtag will be used by @GEANTnews. Furthermore, each week, one or more NREN will share what they are doing in terms of security and security awareness on Connect Online.

What can I expect in the future?

The coming years, the European NRENs will step up their game to contribute to Security Awareness. We will create a repository where NRENs and their constituencies can share awareness materials. We will also develop generic materials ourselves that are ready to use or free to adopt to your local requirements. And we will create guidelines on how to set up your own awareness program. Finally, we want to have a fun cybersecurity month each year, using everything our community has to offer and make awareness accessible for everyone.

Spread the word

GÉANT has created an editable cybersecurity month poster set you can download here

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