Thoughts From a Clicker
By Tiny Ruisch
Are you prepared for next month?
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. It was created in 2004 as a collaboration between government and industry to provide resources that users need to stay safer and more secure online. Administered by the Department of Homeland Security, this is a perfect time for all of us review our online practices to avoid falling victim to the many attacks that can compromise our lives.
To coincide with the national Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) cybersecurity campaign, Governor John Bel Edwards has signed a proclamation recognizing October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Louisiana. Here are some links that will hopefully help everyone lock down their electronics.
The city of Baton Rouge has held seminars in the past. Although there isn’t any scheduled this year, you can view past conferences at Red Stick Ready – Cybersecurity Preparedness. There are also several links to handouts and other helpful information. As an added bonus, at the bottom of the page there are links to prepare for many other disasters and hazards.
Some other links that you might find helpful:
• The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency home page has links to information on everything the US Government publishes. You can read the blog, sign up for the newsletter, view many “how-to” articles and much more.
• Identity Theft is a Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice page on how to prevent your personal information from being stolen.
• Scam Alerts is a Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice page with three sections: 1) How To Avoid a Scam; 2) What To Do if You Were Scammed; and 3) Report Fraud, Scams, and Bad Business Practices.
• The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) site with detailed instructions how how to report on-line crime.
I hope you can use the links in this article to stay safe.