October is The European Cybersecurity Month (ECSM)

As our reliance on online resources and internet enabled devices grows, cyber security and keeping yourself as protected as possible online has never been more important. Previously, the emphasis of cyber security has been focused on threats, such as someone accessing your bank account and stealing your money. But now, with more of us having more of an online presence, protecting your data and being aware of the potential threats that can leave your data exposed, is coming into focus.
It is these types of challenges and threats that are the focus of this years European Cyber Security month.

What Cyber Security Month is about.
The European Cybersecurity month is an annual event ran by the European Union, and the aim is to promote cybersecurity and increase cyber security awareness in general. To do this, ECSM makes a range of education and resources available to anyone, either on their website https://cybersecuritymonth.eu/ and by organising various activities and workshops which take place all across Europe, all designed to help companies and individuals alike improve their cybersecurity, and gain a better understanding of what cybersecurity covers.

ECSM Themes
With this year’s ECSM motto being ‘Think Before U Click’, the two main themes of 2021 are ‘Cyber First Aid’ and ‘Be Cyber-secure at Home’.

The Covid-19 pandemic forced a lot of individuals and companies to rapidly change the way they work, and live, forcing us to adopt more digital technology and carry out more and more activities online, which as a result, has caused a surge in cyber crime and cyber criminals coming up with ever more sophisticated ways to gain access to our valuable data.

Cyber First Aid shares a raft of useful guidelines and advice on what individuals and companies can do in the event of a cyber attack, and resources outlining tell-tell signs that your account has been hacked, your bank details stolen or if you are the victim of a scam.

Be Cyber Secure at Home focuses on the steps you can take to keep yourself safe online, as well as identify potential cyber risks.

Make yourself Cyber Smart
If you are worried, you’re not quite up-to scratch when it comes to cyber security, a great place to start for yourself is to ‘Get Cyber Skilled’, the ECSM offers four learning modules, which cover:

1. Password management
2. Backing up data
3. Privacy settings
4. Protecting against social engineering

Admittedly, these are courses designed to help you create a study plan for a class, but if you are not planning on running any classes soon, it still contains great advice and best practices you can adopt in your personal life to help keep yourself secure.

For organisations, a great place to begin on the road to making your organisation digitally secure, is to get a cyber essentials certificate. You can find out more about Cyber Essentials here, but in a nutshell, it is a simple, but effective scheme backed by the Government, which will help your organisation protect itself from a range of cyber attacks. While we don’t like to brag, we can’t resist the chance to drop in the fact that Mark One Consultants are a certified Cyber Essentials partner, so feel free to get in touch for some help and advice.