National Cyber Security Awareness Month

Going into its (lucky) thirteenth year, the recognition of October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) is becoming as integral to fall as football, sweaters, and pumpkin spice everything. Championed by the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) of the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance, Cyber Security Awareness Month is an annual campaign to raise awareness about the importance of proper cyber behavior in our personal and professional lives.[Tweet "October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. #GovEventsBlog #NCSAM"]

In 2016, the NCSAM campaign saw over 151 million impressions of the hashtag #CyberAware, over 43,000 hits to NCSAM webpages, and more than 85 partners hosted NCSAM events. 2017 is shaping up to expand the reach of the program with five themed weeks of activity:

• October 2-6 - Simple Steps to Online Safety
• October 9-13 -Cyber Security in the Workplace is Everyone's Business
• October 16-20 - Today's Predictions for Tomorrow's Internet
• October 23-27 - The Internet Wants YOU: Consider a Career in Cyber Security
• Week 5: October 30-31 - Protecting Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Threats

Following this outline, organizations nationwide are planning informative and interactive events to further the awareness of cyber risks and what everyone can do in their day-to-day activities to protect themselves and our nation as a whole. We've highlighted several relevant events to add to your October calendar:[Tweet "Check out just a few #cybersecurity #government focused events. #GovEventsBlog #NCSAM"]

• CSX 2017 North America (October 2-4; Washington, DC) - Organized by ISACA, this event offers a wide variety of tracks with each track offered at two levels - Essential and Advanced. Top experts in their respective fields share the most effective tactics and tools to meet the ever-growing threat. Attendees can earn up to 32 CPE hours at this conference.
• Hacker Halted (October 5-10; Atlanta, GA) - This conference focuses on how organizations are often compromised through the smallest of mistakes​ and how implementing effective changes can have ripple effects throughout all departments of an organization.
• State of California Cyber Security Summit (October 10; Sacramento, CA) - This event gathers thought leaders from industry, government, and academia to engage, inform, train, and empower California to stay ahead of cyber threats. The information delivered is tied to the five pillars of cyber security: identify, detect, protect, respond, and recover. The event features CPE-certified content.
• Homeland Security Week (October 24-27; Washington, DC) - In it's 12^th year this event brings together top homeland security leaders from government, industry and academia to dive into current challenges and future requirements necessary for numerous government agencies directly or indirectly responsible for U.S. homeland security. Programming includes interactive keynote presentations, large-scale panel discussions, project updates, case studies, and intimate roundtables.
• Wild West Hackin' Fest (October 27-28; Deadwood, SD) - From the show description, "This conference is going to be about breaking things." This hands-on event will have participants hacking non-standard devices (think toasters and refrigerators) as well as other IoT technology. With these hacks, attendees will learn more about the cyber vulnerabilities that are all around us.

Take a look at all the cyber-focused events scheduled for October on GovEvents and start filling your calendar today. Let us know where you'll be "celebrating" Cyber Security Awareness with a note in the comments.