The Cybersecurity Tech Accord is excited to join with governments and organizations around the world in celebrating October as “Cybersecurity Awareness Month” and encourages nations everywhere to lend their support in recognizing the month as well. Modern technology, and the connectivity it facilitates between nations and peoples from across the globe, allows for an exchange of ideas and culture unprecedented in human history. This same connectivity also binds us all together in a collective effort to protect and defend the integrity and security of the public Internet. Everyone who uses networked technologies – from large organizations down to individual users – has a responsibility to be aware of cyber risk and to understand how to keep themselves and others safe online.
Facilitating this kind of cyber awareness requires leadership from governments as well as the technology industry, which has a responsibility to help protect its users and customers in cyberspace. This October, the Cybersecurity Tech Accord is proud to be supporting the work of the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in promoting cybersecurity awareness throughout the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations. Today, we are releasing a draft report for comment – Cybersecurity Awareness in the Commonwealth of Nations – which is focused on providing industry guidance on awareness campaigns and capturing current initiatives taking place across Commonwealth regions and within member states. The draft report is open for comment through October 25th and is particularly interested in capturing any additional awareness programs taking place in the Commonwealth not currently included.
Download the draft report here.
Please send comments/contributions to info@cybertechaccord.org.
The diverse coalition of member states in the Commonwealth of Nations reflects also a wide range of cybersecurity capacities and awareness. According to research conducted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as well as the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, 39 of the 53 Commonwealth countries have not previously recognized Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and 21 of the nations have never had a public cybersecurity awareness campaign of any kind. Cybersecurity Awareness Month provides a unique opportunity to take stock of these needs and explore what can be learned from initiatives pursued in other nations. With advanced cyber actors, like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Singapore, in the Commonwealth, there is a wealth of resources and information available to share to improve awareness, and the Cybersecurity Tech Accord looks forward to further supporting these efforts moving forward.
Promoting cybersecurity awareness falls squarely within the 3rd principle of the Cybersecurity Tech Accord – We will help empower users, customers and developers to strengthen cybersecurity protection – which recognizes the technology industry’s responsibility to join with governments and other stakeholders to help our users and customers be safe and aware of cyber risk. Therefore, in addition to working with the FCO and the respective governments of the Commonwealth, the Cybersecurity Tech Accord is working to share the resources and initiatives developed by its signatories to improve cybersecurity awareness – much of which is included in our ever-growing video library of webinars that are free to access and which tackle some of the most pressing cybersecurity challenges of our time.
Beyond our own resources, there are many readily available materials intended to improve the cybersecurity awareness and capabilities of governments, organizations and individuals. Below is a list of the “Top 10” such resources currently available for each of these groups. We hope you will join us, wherever you are in the world, in celebrating and promoting Cybersecurity Awareness Month this October and sharing these materials with others to help build a more safe and secure online world for us all!
Top 10 resources for your Cybersecurity Awareness Month!
For individuals:
- “Stay Safe Online” initiative by the National Cyber Security Alliance https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/
- “Cyber Tips 4 You” video series by Singapore’s Cyber Security Awareness Alliance https://www.csa.gov.sg/gosafeonline/go-safe-for-me/homeinternetusers/cyber-tips-4-you-videos
- “European Cyber Security Month – NIS Quiz” video and other content by the EU Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) https://cybersecuritymonth.eu/references/quiz-demonstration/intro
- “Stop.Think.Connect” initiative by the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) and National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) https://www.stopthinkconnect.org/tips-advice
- “Get Cyber Safe – Resources” from the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security https://www.getcybersafe.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/index-en.aspx
For businesses:
- “Cybersecure My Business” initiative by the National Cyber Security Alliance https://staysafeonline.org/cybersecure-business/
- “Cybersecurity for Small Business” resources for SMEs by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/small-businesses/cybersecurity
- “Go Safe For Business” initiative by Singapore’s Cyber Security Awareness Alliance https://www.csa.gov.sg/gosafeonline
For governments:
- “Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign Toolkit” by the Organization of American States (OAS) https://www.thegfce.com/documents/publications/2015/10/01/cybersecurity-awareness-campaign-toolkit
- “Focus awareness-building through a Cybersecurity Awareness Month” by the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE) https://www.thegfce.com/initiatives/g/global-campaign-to-raise-cybersecurity-awareness/documents/publications/2017/11/21/focus-awareness-building-through-a-cybersecurity-awareness-month
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