JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
October marks the 15th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month at Joint Base Langley-Eustis.
The Department of Homeland Security hosts the awareness month through a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safe and secure online.
People are constantly connected and interacting with the world through technology, often spending anywhere from two to 10 plus hours online.
Using real cybersecurity means consistently making new demands to stay secure in an ever evolving information technology environment.
The cybersecurity realm has many levels of responsibility, from protecting our nation’s critical infrastructure such food and water supplies, to elections, all the way down to your personal identity or Social Security numbers.
From every corner of the world, there are new threats, new vulnerabilities and new attacks to address.
Knowledge is power and being proactive is the key to preventing network attacks and system failures.
Whether you’re at work or at home, if you do not pay attention to where your information is going, who is using your data, or upgrade your security regularly you put yourself and others at risk.
For JBLE, the 633rd Air Base Wing, cybersecurity office is actively policing the network, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your data.
Users should follow these helpful tips when accessing any network device:
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Create strong passwords: 8-15 characters or more for home use. Military should use a minimum of 15 characters. Include upper and lower case letters, special characters and numbers to make them stronger.
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Protect your personally identifiable information. Shred old documents with social security numbers on them or bank/credit card statements. For current documents lock them in drawers or cabinets for safe keeping.
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Never leave devices unattended with your common access card in your device. For home use, set your device to use lock screens when unattended.
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Avoid phishing scams or any suspicious emails. Report these emails to your unit cybersecurity liaison.
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Install anti-virus protection on your home computers.
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Be prepared for virus attack and network response. Use the 633rd ABW Computer Incident Response Aid at work, or run an anti-virus scan on your home computer.
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Pay Attention to current trends/threats in the cyber security community
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Classified means classified. Do not send classified information through unclassified emails. Report any violations to your unit security manager and your unit CSL.
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Encrypt emails when necessary especially for PII/for official use only information.
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Read the terms of service and agreements. Understand what companies are doing with your data and if they sell that information to third parties.
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Install software updates and patches regularly.
Find more information about National Cyber Security Awareness Month online at: www.staysafeonline.org/ncsam/get-involved/.
For additional questions, contact the 633rd ABW Cyber Security office at 764-2776 or 633abw.ia@us.af.mil.