Governor Proclaims October as ‘Cyber Security Awareness Month’

In an effort to encourage Pennsylvanians to take steps to protect their computers, smart phones and mobile devices from online threats, Gov. Tom Corbett has proclaimed October as “Cyber Security Awareness Month.”

“As more and more people are using social media, mobile applications and wireless devices to manage their day-to-day lives, it critically important for Pennsylvanians to understand how they can protect themselves and their personal information while using the Internet,” said Corbett in a release.

Last year, Pennsylvania was recognized as one of the top four most digitally advanced state governments by the Center for Digital Government. Pennsylvania is also a recognized leader in cyber security issues.

Highlights of Pennsylvania’s information security program include:

• Policies and procedures for developing secure online applications
• Advanced computer forensics, monitoring and automated incident response capabilties
• Security policies for data encryption, privacy roles and acceptable use
• Cyber security drills
• Information security awareness training for employees

“The commonwealth has a robust, multi-layered defense to safeguard sensitive data and fend off online attacks,” said George White, the state’s chief information officer. “However, you cannot overlook the human side of information security. That is why we train employees to recognize and avoid potential threats such as spam and phishing that could compromise our systems.”

This year, Pennsylvanians can demonstrate their commitment to online security by taking the “Cyber Pledge.”  By doing simple things like using strong passwords (a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and special characters), deleting suspicious emails and keeping portable computing devices in sight at all times while in public can go a long way toward staying safe online.