Promoting a culture of cybersecurity at work
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. All month long, we'll be promoting a safer, more secure, and more trusted internet. This week’s theme is, “Cybersecurity in the workplace is everyone’s business.”
Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Everyone in every workplace — from top leadership to entry-level staff — plays a role in protecting an organization.
Minimizing human error: apply updates
Criminals often rely on human error to gain access to systems. In the case of Equifax, they gained access to the personal data of 143 million people because they found a web-application had not been updated for two months.
An easy way for you to make sure you and your workplace are protected is to apply timely updates.
- Configure auto-updates on your computer so that you know you're protected against the latest threats from malware and viruses automatically. This action will prevent attackers from taking advantage of most known vulnerabilities. Make sure you do this for all your security software, like anti-virus protection.
- Always apply patches and updates. Never postpone them. Take a minute to allow your operating system to download and install the updates.
- Restart your computer, regularly. Taking this action makes sure any waiting updates are applied.
Helpful tools
Microsoft Update handles updates for installed Microsoft products.
Apple provides updates for OS X and App Store applications.
Secuna PSI provides a free software updating service for personal use.
Mac Informer is a free tool for keeping track of updates for your Mac.