DENVER — Today, Governor Jared Polis kicked off Colorado’s celebration of the 21st annual national Cybersecurity Awareness Month by issuing a proclamation encouraging Coloradans to practice online safety and protect their data.
In 2023, the Identity Theft Resource Center reported 2,365 cyberattacks in the U.S., compared to more than 800,000 attacks globally that occur each year, according to Security Magazine. Last year, a 72% increase in U.S. data breaches was also seen compared to 2021, the previous record.
“Securing our world is everyone’s responsibility since threats can affect anyone and come from anywhere,” says Jill Fraser, Chief Information Security Officer at OIT. “There are steps you can take to protect your own data and stay safer online.”
The theme of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is Secure Our World, which encourages individuals to take four easy steps each day to ensure our online safety:
- Understand the benefits of using a strong password and not reusing that password across accounts.
- Turn on multifactor authentication on personal devices.
- Recognize and report phishing which is still one of the primary attack methods cyber criminals use today.
- Install technology updates when they become available and where possible turn on automatic updates.
The Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) will be providing tips on social media throughout Cybersecurity Awareness Month to help Coloradans keep their digital lives secure all year long. When everyone does their part to stay educated and employ security best practices, it helps prevent personal and professional information from falling into the wrong hands.
Follow OIT on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn how to reduce cybersecurity risks. For more tips and facts on how to stay safe online at work, home, school and on the go, explore these Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency resources.