October was established as Cybersecurity Awareness Month in 2004 and is a collaborative effort between government agencies and private industry to help individuals protect themselves online, especially as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace.
Your Role
This year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month theme is See Yourself in Cyber. It highlights the reality that cybersecurity is ultimately about people and not a technology issue. To protect ourselves and our data, we all need to make smart decisions on the job, at home, and at school.
See Yourself in Cyber means recognizing the part you play in cybersecurity no matter what your role may be. As an individual, take basic steps to protect your online information and privacy. As a student, faculty, or staff member, be vigilant in protecting your institutional identity and the data entrusted to you. While the University has implemented strong cybersecurity policies and practices, the burden of keeping information safe rests on us. We each need to play our part.
4 Things You Can Do Right Now
- Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever possible, not just your Drake accounts
- Use strong, unique passwords for every account
- Recognize and report phishing
- Keep software & apps up to date on all of your devices
Additional Resources
Go to https://www.drake.edu/its/csam/ to view some helpful and humorous videos about cybersecurity topics as well as take the cybersecurity quiz!
The first 150 people to complete the quiz will receive a coupon to use at the campus Starbucks, and all participants will be entered into a random drawing for 1 of 15 Griff II T-shirts!
— Chris Mielke, ITS