Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Hello, October!

It’s the first day of October! For many people, October means it is time to break out the Halloween decorations. But October 1st means something entirely different for cybersecurity professionals.

It is the first day of Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

And trust me when I say it can be just as spooky as Halloween.

So, what exactly is Cybersecurity Awareness Month?

It is a global effort to help everyone stay safe when using technology. Cybersecurity Awareness Month is all about sharping our cybersecurity skills and learning how to avoid threats.

Be Cyber Smart

This year’s nationwide theme is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.”

The goal of this theme is to emphasize that cybersecurity isn’t only a shared responsibility, but also an individual responsibility.

If everyone does their part to be Cyber Smart, our interconnected world will be safer and more secure for everyone.

And for SMBs, doing your part is now more critical than ever.

The Current State of Cybercrime

The current climate for cybersecurity is looking grim in 2021.

Since the pandemic began, the FBI reported a 300% increase in reported Cybercrimes in 2020.

However, 2021 passed this report in the first 6 months.

Why is that? Well, it’s hard to pin down.

But what we do understand is that the modern world is dependent on technology. And virtually all personal and business data is kept on internet-connect platforms.

As a result, all that data has become a gold mine for bad actors.

And not to put bad news on top of bad news, but small businesses are one of the most vulnerable to cyberattacks.

This noteworthily Verizon report shows that 43% of all data breaches involve small businesses. And 60% of those small businesses will go out of business within six months of the breach.

Those small businesses typically go under because of the sheer cost of a data breach. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million as of 2020.

And I can only presume that number is going to rise, just like all the others.

What can We Do?

Those statistics seem dire. And that is partly true. Cybercrime is brutal and merciless.

But it is not hopeless.

If we all take the time to learn cybersecurity best practices, we will all be better off.

But for small businesses, hacker’s no. 1 victim, to become Cyber Smart, it takes more than just strong passwords.

And during October, MRW Security Team will prove tools to help improve your cybersecurity posture.

Each week, we are going to discuss the fundamentals that make up a rock-solid security posture.

These fundamentals are NetGarde’s Four Pillars of Cybersecurity. And they are achievable for any small business regardless of size and revenue.

On Tuesday, October 5th, we’re going to discuss the 1st Pillar: Cybersecurity Awareness Training. So, please stay tuned to learn how to correctly implement training and what topics should be on the curriculum.