June is National Internet Safety Month & Here’s How You Can Still Prepare

Security Awareness Program Owners try to keep up with all the major “security-themed” holidays, but despite outlining them at the start of each year, some dates just sneak up. 

In fact, National Internet Safety Month is sneaking up real fast. It’s this June already! 

Whether you’re just starting your research or are hunting down a few ideas for educating your team on this year’s campaign, the time is now.

Here’s what this important month is all about and how you can leverage it for your security awareness program:

What is National Internet Safety Month, Exactly?

National Internet Safety Month is an annual initiative specifically dedicated to educating people on internet safety. 

For a full 30 days each June, federal and state governments, industry, and nonprofit organizations unite to promote safe online behavior and practices. The keyword here is “unite.” This month is about recognizing that internet safety is a shared responsibility— knowing we all must join together to make the internet a safer place for everyone, both at work and at home.

Understand the STOP.THINK.CONNECT.™ Campaign

STOP.THINK.CONNECT.™ is a national public awareness campaign frontiered by The Department of Homeland Security in coordination with The National Cyber Security Alliance.

Its goal is to empower Americans to be safer and more secure online by increasing their understanding of cyber threats. The campaign aims to provide simple, easy-to-understand resources and strategies to help us stay safe on the web. 

It simplifies best practices for pursuing the internet into just three steps:

1. STOP and make sure security measures are in place
2. THINK about the consequences of your actions and behaviors online 
3. CONNECT and enjoy your devices with more peace of mind

But while this seems pretty straightforward, your team needs more than just the standard “think before browsing the web” advice. They need tangible safety tips and specific information on what threats they may face and how to react. That’s where you come in!

Compile Internet Safety Tips to Share with Your Team

Program owners have an important responsibility this month to talk about pertinent topics regarding internet safety, relayed in a language your teams can actually understand.

Here’s how you can equip every department with the support they need this June:

1. Follow the campaign online. 

On stopthinkconnect.org, you can find handy resources for helping your employees own their online presence, including tip sheets, videos, posters and even memes to download and share. Check out all these incredible resources. 

STOP.THINK.CONNECT.™ also has a list of national studies with empowering statistics on internet safety to share with the C-suite, management and all teams alike.

2. Share tips from NCSA.

The National Cyber Security Alliance rolled out a number of tips for protecting yourself online this Internet Safety Month. From mobile protection to caution while socializing online, we urge you to give their advice a read. 

3. Make it personal before making it professional.

Remember that employees have their own job responsibilities and maintaining your company’s security isn’t always a top priority nor top of mind. Instead of talking about security in terms of your business specifically, pique their interest by relating cyber security to things they actually care about.

For example, parents want to know how to secure and monitor their children’s accounts online. Suggesting kids use avatars for profile pictures on gaming sites instead of real photos may lay the perfect foundation for explaining what social engineers look for when digging for open-source intelligence. Or, share how someone’s credit card info might get stolen while traveling on vacation to inspire them to better protect private data, in general. 

Often, the same principles that apply to their personal safety can be used to increase your corporate safety and become habits.

4. Get pre-made campaign assets.

While cybersecurity holidays like National Internet Safety Month are undoubtedly important to recognize, it can be hard to push this type of awareness content when you’re juggling multiple other campaigns.

That’s why sometimes it’s wise to invest in pre-packaged awareness resources from a trusted partner, one who is dedicated to ensuring you don’t miss important annual initiatives like this. You’ll also get access to all the materials you need to share with your departments, ready-to-go!

Program owner resources like Campaign-in-a-Box outline monthly themed “mini” campaigns, with focused pre-written content around crucial national campaigns like Internet Safety Month.

Discover Campaign-in-a-Box for Yourself

Use our pre-written, supportive content to educate your teams on important cyber security initiatives without all the research and work. Request more information about our unique Campaign-in-a-Box offering, today.