In recognition of October being National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we think it’s important for everyone to realize how much their behavior impacts security for themselves and their organization. Proofpoint found in its 2019 Human Factor Report that a stunning 99% of the threats observed require human interaction to execute.

Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) think that the data they have or have access to does not have value. Nothing could be further from the truth. A key message for businesses of varying industries and sizes is that all data is valuable.

Today, nearly everyone’s computer has anti-virus software and most people have a basic understanding of email phishing threats. But that same diligence and protection is lacking on social media channels, the foundation of most people’s identity online. This lack of security has made social media the target of cybercriminals and subsequently subject to massive data breaches, exposing valuable personal information.

Early childhood education has long been established as an important factor needed to help children thrive. It is proven that if children fail to learn basic skills like reading while they are young, they will face lifelong challenges and struggles. As we raise a generation of digital natives, we’re finding the same applies to cyber safety, or digital citizenship, training.

Our credentials are the keys to the online world and should be treated with high regard. They provide access to cloud hosted infrastructure organizations rely on, personal email, bank accounts, and a whole lot more.

As we begin Week 3 of NCSAM 2019, we want to remind everyone that personal accountability is key. And, that it’s essential to take proactive measures to enhance cybersecurity at home, at work and when you’re out and about. In previous blogs, we addressed how to best own and secure your personal information. Now, we need to safeguard all of that invaluable data.

On Tuesday, Oct. 8, the National Cyber Security Alliance and Nasdaq hosted the NCSA Nasdaq Cybersecurity Summit in honor of the 16th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM).

The best way to fight cybercriminals is through education and that can start at any age. As parents, caregivers, teachers and school administrators, we teach our children to learn how to safely cross a road and who to call in case of an emergency. We must also teach our kids proactive digital privacy and online safety behavior and give them the tools to own their own cyber safety.

With a breach occurring seemingly every week, businesses and individuals are more pressed than ever to secure online information. Recent research has found that weak passwords cause 80 percent of data breaches, and it’s not hard to understand why.

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) is a good time for the higher education and research community to focus on their information security programs and educating students, faculty and staff. This focus brings reflections on the improvements made in the last year and planning for the next year.