October 2022 is National Security Awareness Month!
Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart
Cybersecurity Awareness Month's overarching theme in 2022 is it's easy to stay safe online.
Unfortunately, not everyone thinks this is true. In fact, 41% of survey respondents in 2021 described cybersecurity as intimidating and frustrating (Oh Behave! The Annual Cybersecurity and Attitudes Behavior Report). While most of the cybersecurity news articles are about massive data breaches and hackers, it can seem overwhelming and feel like you're powerless against it.
With this year's theme, we want to remind everyone that while there are all kinds of way to keep your data protected, following just four key steps can make a big difference. Cybersecurity doesn't have to be overwhelming. With just a few clicks, you can be on your way to keeping your data safe and secure online.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
Nearly half (48%) of US/UK respondents say they have "never heard of MFA." Many people don't realize that multi-factor authentication is an incredibly important tool that goes a long way in keeping accounts secure. In fact, of those who knew about it (52%), most had applied MFA to their online accounts (81%) and were still using it (90%), showing that once MFA is enabled, users will keep using it. This month, we're showing others how easy it is to enable MFA whenever possible.
Additional Facts and Figures
- Only 26% of companies use multi-factor authentication. (LastPass)
- Two-factor authentication has become more popular over the last two years, with 79% of US/UK respondents saying they used it in 2021, compared to 53% who used it in 2019. (Duo Labs)
- SMS text messages are the most common second factor US/UK users choose when logging into two-factor authentication accounts, at 85%. (Duo Labs)
Use Strong Passwords and a Password Manager
53% of people rely on their memory to manage passwords (Ponemon Institute).
As our online lives expand, we've gone from having just a few passwords to today, where we might manage upwards of 100. That's 100 unique passwords to remember if you're using strong password habits. Password managers can save users a lot of headache and make passwords safer by recommending strong passwords. This October, we're dispelling the misconceptions about password managers and showing others how these tools will keep them safe online.
Additional Facts and Figures
- 43% of adults have shared their password with someone (Google)
- Only 45% of adults would change a password after a breach (Google)
- 75% of people said they don't know how to create secure passwords in the first place (Ponemon Institute)
- 81% of the total number of breaches leveraged stolen or weak passwords (LastPass)
- 61% of employees use the same passwords for multiple platforms (LastPass)
- The most commonly used password management strategy was writing them down in a notebook (31%). (NCA)
- Only 12% of participants reported using a stand-alone password manager application with another 11% saving their passwords in a browser. (NCA)
- 28% of adults in the US use the same passwords for all of their online accounts. (Business Insider)
- 65% of Americans don't trust password managers. (Password Manager and YouGov)
Update Your Software
Nearly a third (31%) of US/UK respondents say they either "sometimes", "rarely", or "never" install software updates. (NCA)
One of the easiest ways to keep information secure is to keep software and apps updated. Updates fix general software problems and provide new security patches where criminals might get in. This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we're telling others to step away from the "remind me later" button to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.
Additional Facts and Figures
- 68% of participants reported installing the latest updates and software as soon as these are available. (NCA)
- Of those who reported installing the latest updates to their devices, 45% had turned on automatic updates. A further 21% noted that they take immediate action when the receive a notification. (NCA)
- Just 20% of Android devices use the latest and safest OS version. (Symantec)
Recognize and Report Phishing
Phishing attacks in data breaches increased 11% from 2019 to 2020. It went from 25% to 36% based on analysis of confirmed breaches. (Verizon)
Phishing attacks have become an increasingly common problem for organizations of all sizes and can be difficult to spot. 30% of small business consider phishing attacks to be their top cybersecurity concern. It's important for every individual to stop and think before clicking on a link or attachment in a message and know how to spot the red flags. Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 will give individuals the tools they need to recognize a phish and report it to their organization or email provider.
Additional Facts and Figures
- Only 60% of adults could define what "phishing"is. (Google)
- Nearly 3 out of 4 companies experienced a phishing attack in 2020. (Symantec)
- 72% of respondents reported that they checked to see whether messages were legitimate (i.e. phishing or a scam) compared to 10% who reported not doing so. (NCA)
- Nearly half of participants (48%) reported phishing emails to the sender (e.g. the real person the cyber criminal tried to impersonate by sending the phishing email). (NCA)
- 42% of participants said they used the reporting capability on a platform (e.g. Gmail) "very often" or "always". (NCA)