It’s finally October, and October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month! This month, we’re putting forth a concerted effort to educate and inform our clients and communities about cybersecurity. At Sterling Ideas, we talk about security every day. Every. Single. Day. And that makes our clients’ technology much more secure. But those conversations rarely make it farther than our office and our clients’ offices, and that’s why we’re focusing on bringing that information directly to you this month. Because it matters!
National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCAM) is a nationally-recognized effort to educate the public about cybersecurity. Why? you may ask. Great question. Let’s talk about it.
We don’t like to play the fear card when it comes to security, but there is a rather scary reality regarding cybercrime. In 2021, according to the FBI’s ic3.gov, email account compromise alone cost victims $2.3 billion. Personal data breaches added up to $500 million. Tech support scams cost victims almost $350 million. (Don’t get me started on that last one.) It’s estimated that ransomware racked up $45 million in ransom payouts, not to mention the cost of the damage it does to business. We believe that everyone, whether an individual or a business, should make cybersecurity a priority, regardless of how big the cybercrime numbers are. Your personal information and business data are worth protecting against even the smallest threat. In today’s world, though, this is no small threat.
Our world relies so heavily on technology that cybersecurity must be a priority. Forty years ago, when technology was not widely accessible and not relied upon for everyday work and activities, cybersecurity wasn’t really a big deal. There’s no need to learn how to protect something you don’t use. But as the world of technology has grown up, the need for cybersecurity has grown exponentially.
The most effective way to secure your information and technology is to educate yourself. Security education does two things. It makes you aware of potential security issues that you might not have recognized before and teaches you how to handle those security threats. So, that’s what we’ll talk about for the next couple of weeks. Sterling will talk next week about personal security, and Todd will go over business cybersecurity for staff after that. Remember, this matters. If you interact with technology in any meaningful way (if you’re reading this, you do!), you need this information on your side. So come back, and we’ll see you then!