Information and communications technologies permeate our day-to-day lives and are vital for the daily operations of both enterprises and governments. This trend is only going to become ever more pronounced, not least because of the Internet-of-Things (IoT) explosion, where nearly every imaginable object comes online and adds to the stockpiles of data we collectively generate on a daily basis.
On the other hand, ubiquitous computing results in unintended concomitant risks, which are only heightened as incentives to harm the security of underlying – and often poorly secured – IT systems grow.
This all, of course, is unfolding as the number of internet users worldwide has topped 4 billion this year. As a result, it is not only the pool of potential digital targets that is increasing: the number of potential human targets is also growing.
Indeed, fostering the public awareness of online dangers has never been more important. By extension, the crucial nature of digital skills for staying safe in our technology-rich environment cannot be overstated. After all, many cybersecurity incidents are enabled by human error.
This is coupled with the fact that there are no pixie dust solutions in cybersecurity and that, notwithstanding their importance, no defensive tools alone can afford us 100-percent protection from all threats and at all times. With that in mind, blissful ignorance is not an option. Instead – and most of all – we need to be wary of the myriad cyber-risks and to keep up-to-speed with ways to make the best of the opportunities that are available to us.
At the same time, we all have a role to play and work to do in cyberspace. Indeed, none of us can shoulder the burden of countering online threats alone – which is also where the European Cyber Security Month (ECSM) comes in. Now in its sixth year, ECSM seeks to promote awareness of information security and safe online practices – as well as to ultimately spread the campaign’s overarching message that “cybersecurity is a shared responsibility”.
WeLiveSecurity is happy to support this advocacy campaign with a series of four articles in October that will deal with various aspects of online security and will be aligned with ECSM’s weekly topics outlined below. Stay tuned – and safe!
ECSM weekly themes:
Week 1 – October 1-5: Practice basic cyber hygiene
Week 2 – October 8-12: Expand your digital skills and education
Week 3 – October 15-19: Recognize cyber scams
Week 4 – October 22-26: Emerging technologies and privacy
