Security awareness is something that is considered to be an essential part of having an effective cyber security programme.
Now, with European Cybersecurity Month (ECSM) set to begin in October, organisations have a valuable opportunity to increase security awareness among employees so that they’re ready to combat the next generation of online threats.
Below we’re going to look at what ECSM is and how organisations can participate.
ECSM is an annual campaign run by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and the European Commission, designed to promote cyber security awareness among EU citizens and organisations.
As part of the ECSM, ENISA and participating organisations will host a range of educational activities, including conferences, presentations, workshops, webinars, training sessions, and games, to help employees and consumers improve their cyber security knowledge.
One of the most interesting events scheduled this year is the European Cyber Security Challenge (ECSC), where top cyber security professionals will meet in Prague to compete against each other in a series of security-related tasks to become the ambassadors of the ECSM 2021.
Participating in the ECSM as a participant or an organiser is beneficial because it provides your organisation with a valuable opportunity to increase employee’s security awareness of external threats.
The diverse range of online training materials, workshops, and training materials included within the campaign provides a goldmine of knowledge for employees to absorb and learn new ways to protect themselves against emerging threats.
When considering that employee awareness is the first line of defense against threats like phishing attempts, social engineering attacks, and credential theft, increasing security awareness among employees can significantly reduce the risk of your organisation of falling victim to a data breach in the near future.
At the same time, ECSM and events like the ECSC also provide an opportunity for security professionals to collaborate, network, and learn from some of the leading cyber security experts in the world to find new ways to enhance their organisation’s security maturity.
One of the best ways for your team to get involved in ECSM is by actively organising a security awareness event. You create activities for your own organisation internally or for other organisations to participate in, which ENISA will promote via the ECSM website.
You can create an event by registering it on the ECSM website by clicking on the Register an Activity page and filling out a form detailing your event. It’s important to note that once you submit your event, it must be approved by the coordinator before it’s published on the website.
Once you’ve published your event, you can use social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to promote the event and participate in campaigns including @CyberSecMonth, #CyberSecMonth, #ThinkB4UClick, and #BeCyberSmart.
If you don’t want to organise an event, but you still want to get involved with ECSM, you can search for other activities on the ECSM website. On the Activities page, you can search for conferences, webinars, in-person training, online training, social media campaigns, and competitions taking place throughout the EU.
If you want to find out more about the ECSM and the latest security awareness guidance, there are plenty of resources online available to assist you, whether you’re looking to plan your own activity or shortlist security best practices to increase employee’s security awareness.
We've compiled a list of resources that we believe organisations may find useful as part of ECSM:
Getting your team to participate in ECSM is a highly effective way to increase your employee’s security awareness in a fun and engaging way. With the range of events and training materials listed on the site, there is content out there to support all types of learners, no matter whether they’re beginners or cyber security experts.
Want to find out how we can help you improve your security awareness? Speak to our team today about proactive technologies and services that can help you to track and improve cyber security awareness in your organisation.