ALBANY (October 3, 2014) - The New York State Office of Information Technology Services Enterprise Information Security Office (NYS ITS EISO) announces the start of Cyber Security Awareness Month in New York State. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo issued a proclamation in support to raise citizen awareness about cyber-based threats and how to stay safe online. http://www.dhses.ny.gov/ocs/awareness-training-events/events/2014/documents/Awareness-Proclamation-2014.pdf

The beginning of October marks the commencement of National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) 2014. Cyber Security Awareness Month is a nationally recognized effort to raise awareness about the importance of cyber security.  The Internet plays an integral part in our daily lives and being constantly connected at work and at home brings increased risk of theft, fraud, and abuse.

“Education and awareness in government, the private sector, and the community at large, are essential to addressing the constantly evolving and increasing threats to the security of our information,” said Brian Digman, New York State Chief Information Officer. “The New York State Office of Information Technology Services Enterprise Information Security Office plays a vital role in educating users, and enhancing the State’s overall security posture, and security services that protect the State’s information technology infrastructure.”

“Public education and awareness are critical components in the protection of information,” said Deborah A. Snyder, Acting Chief Information Security Officer, NYS ITS EISO. “There is a growing realization of the significant dependency on the technologies that are used to deliver services.  Given the potential for disruption to these services, it is more important than ever that we ensure individuals understand their role in managing security risk.  Cyber Security Awareness Month provides an excellent opportunity to focus attention on good "cyber hygiene" practices that will help users safeguard their organizations’ information from disclosure or destruction.”

The NYS ITS EISO is providing a number of educational resources to the public, including an electronic Cyber Security Awareness Toolkit in celebration of NCSAM. The Toolkit includes cyber security-themed posters, calendars, guides, brochures, and other content that can be downloaded to help promote and reinforce cyber safety themes in practical, informative, entertaining, and usable ways.  The Toolkit material can be found on the ITS website at www.its.ny.gov/eiso/.

In conjunction with NCSAM, NYS ITS EISO is coordinating a statewide cyber security poster contest for students in grades Kindergarten-12. This is a timely opportunity for school teachers to focus on keeping children safe online in a fun way.  New York State winners will be featured on the ITS website and entered into the National Contest.  For more information on the poster contest, please visit www.its.ny.gov/eiso/.

Please visit the ITS EISO website at www.its.ny.gov/eiso/, for more information on Cyber Security Awareness Month, follow on Twitter at #NysCyber, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nystatecio.

Simple actions you can take to stay safe online: 

• Set strong passwords with eight or more characters and a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols.
• Don’t share passwords with anyone.
• Keep your operating system, browser, and other critical software optimized by installing updates.
• Limit the amount of personal information you share online.
• Use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely.
• Be cautious about what you receive or read online; if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.