October 2013 Focused on Global Cyber Security Awareness Activities

Both the EU and the US have developed the tradition of celebrating Cyber Security Month every October. This year these activities coincided with events all around the world, including the campaign of the Singapore Cyber Security Awareness Alliance¹ and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications and Information Working Group (APEC-TEL), Cyber Security Awareness Day.

October of 2013 witnessed several cyber security awareness activities around the world. One of the most prominent examples was the EU, which launched its Cyber Security Month (ECSM) that ran various events aimed at promoting cyber security education and the sharing of good practices in 27 participating countries. Some of the objectives of the ECSM 2013 were directly connected with recent legal and policy developments such as generating specific awareness of Network and Information Security (NIS) as addressed in the proposed EU NIS Directive, and enhancing attention and interest with regard to information security through political and media coordination.²

The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) has offered support for the ECSM through a number of publications. In 2011, ENISA conducted a feasibility study³ on the project. In October 2013, in coordination with global partners, the 12 mobile safety tips⁴ were announced. In December 2013, the Roadmap based on the results of the European Cyber Security Month⁵ was published, discussing the policy context, stakeholder model of engagement and the main achievements of ECSM, together with the country profiles of the participating EU Member States. As such, the Roadmap report introduces a model for a joint EU advocacy campaign which may serve as a useful example for other international and regional organisations.

In parallel, many other countries and organisations chose the month of October to underline the importance of cyber security awareness. For example, the US celebrated the 10th year of National Cyber Security Awareness Month,⁶ and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications and Information Working Group (APEC-TEL)⁷ held its 4th annual Cyber Security Awareness Day.

1. Singapore Cyber Security Awareness Alliance, https://www.gosafeonline.sg/ [↩]
2. Read more about ECSM at: http://cybersecuritymonth.eu/whats-ecsm [↩]
3. ENISA, “European Month of Network and Information Security for All – A feasibility study,”November 2011. http://www.enisa.europa.eu/activities/stakeholder-relations/nis-brokerag… [↩]
4. ENISA, “ENISA Mobile Safety Tips,” October 30, 2013.http://www.enisa.europa.eu/media/news-items/safety-tips-for-mobiles-enis… [↩]
5. ENISA, “ECSM final report. Roadmap for European Cyber Security Month,”November 2013. http://www.enisa.europa.eu/activities/stakeholder-relations/nis-brokerag… [↩]
6. “US National Cyber Security Awareness Month,” Stay Safe Online, http://www.staysafeonline.org/ncsam/landing-page/ [↩]
7. APEC, “Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications and Information Working Group (APEC-TEL)”, read more at: http://www.apec.org/Groups/SOM-Steering-Committee-on-Economic-and-Techni… [↩]