Since 2004, the President of the United States and Congress have declared October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, helping individuals protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) lead a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise cybersecurity awareness nationally and internationally. 

Cybersecurity Awareness Month Theme

See Yourself in Cyber

This year’s campaign theme — “See Yourself in Cyber” — demonstrates that while cybersecurity may seem like a complex subject, ultimately, it’s really all about people . This October will focus on the “people” part of cybersecurity, providing information and resources to help educate CISA partners and the public, and ensure all individuals and organizations make smart decisions whether on the job, at home or at school – now and in the future. We encourage each of you to engage in this year’s efforts by creating your own cyber awareness campaigns and sharing this messaging with your peers.

4 Things You Can Do

Throughout October, CISA and NCA will highlight key action steps that everyone should take:

• Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
• Use Strong Passwords
• Recognize and Report Phishing
• Update Your Software

Your Role

When we say See Yourself in Cyber, we mean see yourself in cyber no matter what role you play. As an individual or consumer, take basic steps to protect your online information and privacy. Vendors and suppliers can take ownership of their role, while protecting their brand and reputation, by putting strong cybersecurity in place at work to help prevent an incident at your location or further down the supply chain. Critical infrastructure owners and operators, you are part of a larger network of functions and systems that rely on or support critical infrastructure. Learn how your organization plays a part in ensuring cybersecurity for the larger ecosystem.  Finally, there is a global need for skilled, diverse workers with technical skills to meet the cyber challenges of today and tomorrow, so find out if this is the career field for you.

How You Can Participate 

Join us for a wide variety of activities and learning opportunities throughout October to learn cyber basics. There will also be a series of web events and tools you can use. We encourage you to explore our Cybersecurity Awareness Month page and check back for updates.

To support your efforts, you can: 

• Access year-round resources at: Cyber Resource Hub | CISA 
• Request a CISA speaker to discuss cybersecurity at your Cybersecurity Awareness Month event. Visit Request a CISA Speaker or send an email to CISA.speakers@cisa.dhs.gov no later than August 26, 2022.
• Become a Cybersecurity Awareness Month Champion. Visit our campaign partner, National Cybersecurity Alliance, to sign up for their campaign updates, newsletter and more!
• Connect with your CISA regional and Critical Infrastructure Sector points of contact to stay informed of this campaign and partnership engagement opportunities.