CASPER, Wyo. — As October ushers in the 20th National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, CyberWyoming Alliance and CyberWyoming are promoting a more secure online environment with help from Laramie High School’s Gaming Safely video.
“The Gaming Safely video was really well done and several of the judges in last year’s Cyber in a Box School Video Challenge asked if we would make it into a public service announcement, so we did,” said Laura Baker, president of the CyberWyoming Alliance.
The video can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM6meNoCTtk.
Each year, the challenge gives teams of students $100 plus T-shirts to create a cyber safety video, according to a press release. This year’s inspiration topic is securing medical internet of things devices, from smart watches to insulin pumps to MRIs.
Teachers, club sponsors or parents can register a team at https://cyberwyoming.org/cyber-in-a-box/ through Nov. 11.
“It is our hope, with the current school year’s Video Challenge, that teachers will book IT tours of their local hospital or medical centers to show students that there are good jobs right in their community,” Baker said.
Not only is the CyberWyoming Alliance highlighting local students and their videos in this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but their sister organization, CyberWyoming, is sending cookies from Laramie’s Golden Prairie Bakery to any small business that pre-registers by Oct. 31 for Wyoming’s Cybersecurity Competition for Small Businesses, the release states.
“You can accept, and eat, these cookies!” Baker said.
Baker went on to explain that Wyoming’s Cybersecurity Competition for Small Businesses is a fun way to learn to manage risks. It is one-on-one, on-the-job, human risk training specifically catered towards micro businesses that don’t have IT help. The competition season officially starts Feb. 1 and goes through mid-August. Winners speak at a conference in September or October.
“A company leader only has to dedicate four to six hours per month to be in the competition, but the benefits are greater confidence levels in managing their IT environment and a lot less worry. Plus, if the leader doesn’t really want to compete, then we just don’t send in the judging report at the end,” Baker said.
With an online learning portal, an apprenticeship structure and a structured learning plan, CyberWyoming has been tasked through an SBA grant won by the Wyoming Small Business Development Center to train other economic development agency business advisors in the program behind the competition.
“This year’s competition is going to be the best yet because small businesses will benefit from a business advisor, a cybersecurity business counselor, and the funds earmarked in the grant to pay for needed small security products,” Baker said.
To sign up for the Cybersecurity Competition, visit https://cyberwyoming.org/competition/.
Founded in 2004, Cybersecurity Awareness Month, held each October, is the world’s foremost initiative aimed at promoting cybersecurity awareness and best practices. As champions for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, CyberWyoming and CyberWyoming Alliance feature specific programs to empower individuals, businesses and institutions to fortify their digital defenses, the release states.
This year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month carries particular significance, exploring Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency’s new theme of “Secure Our World” and adopted in collaboration with the National Cybersecurity Alliance. This year’s advice revolves around four key cybersecurity best practices:
- Understanding the benefits of using a password manager and dispelling existing myths around password manager security and ease of use.
- Turning on multifactor authentication on personal devices and business networks.
- Recognizing and reporting phishing — still one of the primary threat actions used by cybercriminals today.
- Installing updates on a regular basis and turning on automated updates.
The White House has made a proclamation that underscores the importance of Cybersecurity Awareness Month and the administration’s dedication to safeguarding cyberspace.
In the proclamation, President Joe Biden emphasized that “Digital technologies today touch nearly every aspect of American life — from our classrooms and communities, to our economy and national security. That is why — this Cybersecurity Awareness Month — my Administration renews our commitment to securing cyberspace and seizing the unlimited potential of our digital future.”
He concluded the proclamation with a call to action, encouraging businesses, institutions and individuals to take cybersecurity seriously and participate in Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
“I call upon the people, businesses and institutions of the United States to recognize and act on the importance of cybersecurity and to observe Cybersecurity Awareness Month in support of our national security and resilience,” he said
For more information about Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023 and how to participate in a wide variety of activities, visit cisa.gov/cybersecurity-awareness-month and staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/.
People can also follow and use the hashtags #CybersecurityAwarenessMonth, #SecureOurWorld and #cyberwyoming on social media throughout the month.
