NASCIO recognizes National Cyber Security Awareness Month
October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and the Lexington, Ky.-based National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) is marking the month with public relations and educational events aimed at increasing awareness and prevention of cyber crime. This is the sixth year for National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which is organized by the National Cyber Security Alliance, a consortium of government agencies and private industry sponsors.
Throughout the month, participating agencies will hold educational programs on cyber security and online child safety for residents, small businesses, and K-12 and college age students. State governments will sponsor many of those initiatives, according to NASCIO. “State governments face cyber security threats every day,” said NASCIO Executive Director Doug Robinson. “Our members know that education and awareness is a top priority and offers a significant return on investment to reduce the risks to critical state systems, services and data.”
NASCIO has launched a resource site and produced a compendium of state of cyber security awareness examples. The Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) has educational toolkits and other resources available for download. More information on National Cyber Security Awareness Month is available at www.nascio.org/advocacy/cybersecurity/ and staysafeonline.org.