Silicon Prairie Cyber Services' Blog

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a global effort to help everyone stay safe and protected when using technology whenever and however you connect. I'm proud to be a Champion and support this online safety and education initiative this October. This month is all about taking action. During October, organizations focus on promoting key behaviors to encourage everyone to take control of their online lives. There are many ways to stay safe and secure online, and I want to get you started with 4 basic steps that will take you far. 4 tips to help you stay safe online all year long! Enable Multi-Factor Authentication Use Strong Passwords and a Password Manager Update Your Software Recognize and Report Phishing

October has come and gone. Daylight savings has come and gone. Has your cybersecurity awareness program come and gone? In October we do a great job of spreading the word on the importance of cybersecurity, thinking before you click, and watching out for suspicious websites. But sometimes, cybersecurity awareness disappears just as fast as it appeared for one month of the year. Your cybersecurity awareness program shouldn’t last just one month a year. Your cybersecurity awareness program should be a living thing that’s visible and accessible all year long. Wouldn’t be it great if you could build cybersecurity awareness into your company culture just like safety and no meeting Fridays? What if I told you I could help you do just that? 3 WAYS I CAN HELP IMPROVE YOUR CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS PROGRAM TRAINING AND EDUCATION: Are you tired of watching the same training videos every year? Would you like to have someone break down a recent incident and use it as a teaching opportunity? Or perhap...

The theme for Week 2 of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is Cybersecurity First. We are more connected than ever. The hybrid workplace is here to stay, and for employees, this means relying on connected devices from their home office. Smart home systems will rise to a market value of $157 billion by 2023, and we expect the number of installed connected devices in the home to rise by a staggering 70% by 2025. TIPS FOR SECURING ALL THOSE DEVICES. Remember smart devices need smart security Make cybersecurity a priority when purchasing a connected device. When setting up a new devices and accounts, be sure to set up the privacy and security settings to limit the sharing of information. Default settings often aren’t secure. Once your device is set up, remember to keep tabs on how secure your information is and actively manage location services so you don’t share your location by mistake. Put cybersecurity first in your job Make cybersecurity a priority in your job. Good cyber hygiene shoul...

The theme for Week 2 of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is Explore. Experience. Share. (Cybersecurity Careers) Cybersecurity is one of the hottest sectors today, with new threats and challenges emerging daily. There is a huge push in the business and education sectors to attract individuals to a cybersecurity career. Are you or someone you know interested in joining this exciting workforce? Here are a few reasons to pursuing a career in cyber. Hot Job Market To say that the cybersecurity jobs market is hot is a vast understatement. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job market for information security analysts will grow by 32 percent by 2028 -- making it one of the fastest growing job sectors -- there will be 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs in 2021. This means that cybersecurity professionals are among the most in-demand around the world and will be for years to come. Infinite Room for Personal and Professional Growth Beyond the ability to get a cybersecurity j...

The theme for Week 2 of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is Fight the Phish From the Colonial Pipeline to T-Mobile, cybersecurity attacks have been rampant over the last 12-24 months. However, for all the emerging threats and news that are cropping up, phishing continues to quietly wreak havoc, and remains a major threat to individuals and businesses. Don’t overlook phishing as a cyber risk. It’s been a major threat for decades. In fact, 43 percent of cyberattacks in 2020 featured phishing or pre-texting, while 74 percent of US organizations experienced a successful phishing attack last year alone. Phishing is one of the most dangerous and effective attacks methods used against your organization. As a result, you need to know how to fight the phish. 3 TIPS TO HELP YOU FIGHT THAT PHISH AND WIN Know the Red Flags Phishes are masters of making their content and interactions appealing. From content design to language, it's difficult to determine whether the content is genuine or a po...

The theme for Week 1 of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is Be Cyber Smart. Being cyber smart means getting familiar with cyber basics. When we are more connected than ever, being “cyber smart” is super important. This year we’ve already seen the number of attacks and breaches skyrocket, including the SolarWinds and Kaseya breaches and high-profile attacks on the Colonial Pipeline and critical infrastructure. What do these recent breaches teach us? Cyberattacks are becoming more evolved and sophisticated with new cybercriminals popping up daily. Luckily, there are several steps that everyone can take to reduce their risk and stay one step ahead of the bad guys. Here’s a few quick tips to get you started. Enable MFA Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds a necessary second check to verify your identity when logging into your account. By requiring multiple methods of authentication, your account is further protected even if the bad guy knows your password. You can use MFA by enteri...