National Cyber Security Awareness Month Energizes Public and Private Sector Partners Around Our Shared Responsibility to Protect the Internet

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With just one week to go to National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) this October, the stage is set for a massive global effort to impact millions of Internet users on the importance of online safety and security. Launched in 2004, NCSAM is co-sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in cooperation with the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center. Now in its 11th year, NCSAM (http://bit.ly/XY4HwX) has grown to include the participation of a multitude of industry leaders — reaching consumers, small and medium-size businesses, corporations, educational institutions and young people.

Mobilizing everyone – from small businesses, local non-profits and academia to multinational corporations and governments – NCSAM is harnessing the collective impact of its programs and resources to increase awareness about today's ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

"The impact of record-breaking data breaches in recent months has catapulted cybersecurity to the top of the agenda for government, in boardrooms and at schools and dinner tables around the world," said Michael Kaiser, Executive Director for the National Cyber Security Alliance. "Awareness month activities focus on building a culture of cybersecurity through educating everyone about what they can do to help make a safer, more secure and trusted Internet."

With an emphasis on "our shared responsibility," NCSAM 2014 will explore five weekly themes representing the most popular trends and issues affecting business, consumers and government including general online safety and STOP. THINK. CONNECT; secure development of IT products; critical infrastructure and the Internet of Things; cybersecurity for small and medium-size business; and cybercrime and law enforcement.

Partners and Projects Making an Impact
NCSAM's success is directly correlated to groups large and small that commit time and resources to cybersecurity education and awareness in October. So far, NCSAM has received tremendous support as demonstrated by the snapshot of activities already planned for the month:

• ADP: As part of its Online Safety and Responsibility initiative, ADP encourages and supports employees to discuss Internet safety with students. Throughout October, volunteer ADP associates will be speaking to children at schools in their local communities across the U.S. and around the globe, utilizing staysafeonline.org resources to promote cyber safety.
• AT&T: Partnering with the Howard University School of Business, AT&T will host the "AT&T Mobile App Hackathon in DC" from October 10-11. With a women-in-tech focus, the event (http://bit.ly/ZvWqlb) will open up doors for entrepreneurs, students and professionals who are inspired by the power of technology to develop mobile apps using cutting edge platforms and hardware supplied onsite.
• Better Business Bureau: Secure Your ID Day: On Saturday, October 11, 2014, BBBs across North America will host an identity theft prevention event featuring FREE on-site shredding and electronic recycling, plus tips to protect your identity. To see if your local BBB is participating, please visit www.BBB.org. BBB is also encouraging businesses to create or update a data security plan to help protect their customers' personal information. Data Security – Made Simpler, a step-by-step guide, is available online for free at www.bbb.org/data-security. BBBs across North America will also be doing educational events, media interviews and other promotions to encourage cybersecurity best practices among consumers and businesses.
• CyberFest 2014: Focused on Securing the Internet of Things, this event in San Diego will look at how the Internet of Things will change lives forever going forward and how security must be built into the very fiber of all things. For additional information and to register, visit http://bit.ly/1ulZGc7
• EMC Corporation: EMC and its RSA security division are supporting NCSAM for the 11th consecutive year with educational events and activities to help promote safe use of the Web at work, home and school. Hundreds of employees worldwide will once again be volunteering to promote safe and responsible Internet use to thousands of students in classrooms, school assemblies and youth groups using educational content from the NCSA's Cyber Security Awareness Volunteer Education program (C-SAVE). RSA is also partnering with the Ponemon Institute to release a 2014 update to RSA's Consumer Internet Security Trends study that will reveal current consumer attitudes, awareness and behaviors around staying safe online.
• ESET: ESET is supporting NCSAM through a number of initiatives this month including participation in a keystone event on October 15th with the San Diego Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE) and DHS. The event will include panelists from around the country addressing cyber issues that relate to critical infrastructure and the Internet of Things. ESET is also airing its series of PSA's on NBC 7 San Diego in partnership with COX Communications and the San Diego Police Foundation's SafetyNet program. The PSA (http://bit.ly/1u8nFzl) raises public awareness of serious cyber issues that affect children and families.
• Educase.edu CIO Insights on Cybersecurity: Join three CIOs as higher ed celebrates NCSAM. In addition to talking about current information security issues on their campuses, the CIOs will discuss the big questions keeping students up at night. Speakers are Michele Norin, CIO, University of Arizona; Peter J. Murray, CIO/VP, University of Maryland, Baltimore; and Melissa Woo, CIO/Vice Provost for Information Services, University of Oregon. Learn more at http://bit.ly/1AWtUVz
• National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO): NCSAM will officially kick-off during the 2014 NASCIO Annual Conference on October 1 in Nashville, Tennessee. Beginning on September 28^th, the four-day event will feature several panels and keynotes on industry hot top topics. For a full conference agenda please visit http://bit.ly/XRg2PG
• Trend Micro: Trend Micro has launched an online hub (http://bit.ly/1mNRmn9) to house educational materials including videos, infographics, research reports and blog posts pertinent to each week's theme.
• University of Virginia NCSAM Kickoff: UVA will kick off NCSAM with a keynote presentation by Brian Wieniswski, CISSP, ITIL, Cybersecurity Resilience and Measurement Center, Software Engineering Institute and DoD resilience technology portfolio manager at Carnegie Mellon University. All are welcome, registration is optional and snacks are provided. For more information about this and other University of Virginia NCSAM events, visit http://bit.ly/1lglIZk
• University of Arizona (UA): The UA Information Security, in collaboration with central and distributed IT groups, student groups and student affairs units, is launching a multi-year multimedia student security awareness campaign. The THINK! campaign's goal is to foster a security culture and make security a habit for the UA student community. For more information about the campaign and events, please visit http://bit.ly/XRggWV
• VISA: Together with Bloomberg Government, VIsa will kick-off the first of its "The Digital Trust: Securing Commerce" event series with a networking reception in Washington, D.C. on September 30, 2014. The series (http://bit.ly/1Dw9RkM) will convene conversations in select cities with business and policy leaders, together with technical experts, to examine the trust essential for a thriving digital economy and the systems and tools that enable it.

See more events and activities or list yours at www.staysafeonline.org/ncsam/events. 

It's Never Too Late to Get Involved
NCSAM supporters can get the latest news and updates on Facebook at www.facebook.com/staysafeonline and on Twitter at @StaySafeOnline. Weekly Twitter chats will begin on Thursday October 2 at 3pm Eastern Time using the hashtag #chatSTC and the official Twitter hashtag of NCSAM is #NCSAM. A full calendar of Twitter chats is available at: http://stopthinkconnect.org/get-involved/twitter-chats/.

NCSA also welcomes organizations to show their support for NCSAM by becoming an official NCSAM Champion and submitting their registration at: http://www.staysafeonline.org/ncsam/champions/. So far, more than 200 champions have signed up to spread the word.

About The National Cyber Security Alliance
The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) is the nation's leading nonprofit public private partnership promoting the safe and secure use of the Internet. Working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), private sector sponsors and non-profit collaborators to promote cybersecurity awareness, NCSA board members include representatives from ADP, AT&T, Bank of America, Comcast Corporation, EMC Corporation, ESET, Facebook, Google, Intel, Leidos, McAfee, Microsoft, PayPal, Symantec, Trend Micro, Verizon and Visa. Through collaboration with the government, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors, NCSA's mission is to educate and empower a digital citizenry to use the Internet securely and safely, protect themselves and the technology they use, and protect the digital assets we all share. For more information on NCSA please visit: http://www.staysafeonline.org/about-us/overview/

About STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™
STOP. THINK. CONNECT. is the national cybersecurity education and awareness campaign. The campaign was created by an unprecedented coalition of private companies, non-profits and government organizations with leadership provided by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG).  The Department of Homeland Security leads the federal engagement in the campaign. Learn how to get involved at STOP.THINK.CONNECT.org .

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SOURCE National Cyber Security Alliance