Do Your Part During Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and OneNet is encouraging everyone to get involved.

Created as a collaborative effort between government and industry, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA).

This year’s theme is “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” NCSA hopes to empower individuals and organizations to own their role protecting their part of cyberspace. The key message for 2020 is “If you connect it, protect it.”

“The theme for Cybersecurity Awareness Month fits with the message we share with our team at OneNet,” said Von Royal, OneNet executive director. “We emphasize that effective security takes everyone’s participation. We educate our team on simple steps everyone can take to protect themselves, our organization and the network.”

Cybersecurity is a critical priority for OneNet. Our team deploys a layered strategy for promoting cybersecurity and security best practices across all end-users, including higher education institutions, K-12 schools, libraries, technology centers, government agencies and healthcare providers. OneNet works to identify vulnerabilities, combat security threats and protect the integrity of our network and the connections to our end-users.

OneNet provides DDoS mitigation services for our end-users and assists with security strategies, including external scanning, abuse alerts and secure network planning. OneNet also offers affordable security options, such as managed firewall and content filtering.

“Security is the core goal in everything we do,” Royal said. “From our network to our systems services, we make security a central objective of planning and deploying services for those we serve.”

OneNet also encourages organizations to take advantage of resources available through local and national organizations who address security concerns. Monitoring threat intelligence is vital to a successful security program. Two resources OneNet recommends for threat intelligence are MS-ISAC and InfraGard. Both of these organizations provide vital security information and services that assist organizations with maintaining a strong security posture. We recommend learning more about these organizations and considering joining.

MS-ISAC – Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center

The mission of the MS-ISAC is to improve the overall cybersecurity posture of the nation’s state, local, tribal and territorial governments through focused cyber threat prevention, protection, response and recovery. Services include:

• 24/7 Security Operations Center
• Incident Response Services
• Cybersecurity Advisories and Notifications
• Webcasts, Awareness and Education Programs

Visit MS-ISAC’s website for more information.

Oklahoma InfraGard

InfraGard Oklahoma Members Alliance is a nonprofit organization serving as a public-private partnership among U.S. businesses, individuals involved in the protection and resilience of U.S. critical infrastructures, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Oklahoma InfraGard Chapter meets monthly for programs and information sharing.

Visit the chapter’s website to learn more.

“We hope individuals and organizations will get involved in security initiatives during the month of October,” said Royal. “If we all do our part, we can make a real difference in keeping ourselves and our organizations secure.”

To learn how you can be a part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, visit NCSA’s website: https://staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/.