Getting a jump start on October, Genesee County legislators presented a proclamation Wednesday to Michael Burns in honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which begins on Saturday.
The Information Technology director, who was hired in May 2021, was grateful for the acknowledgment but advised folks not to be lulled into complacency the other 11 months of the year.
“I’d like to thank the legislators for understanding the importance in terms of security in general, not only within the county but also within referral support … it’s a reminder to everyone that cybersecurity is not just something that we have. This is something that we have to actively practice, and we are more wired than ever before,” Burns said during Legislature’s meeting at the Old Courthouse. “It's all devices that we carry … they're in our everyday life. The data that we use every day is valuable, and people know it. Some may want to get their hands on that. So we have to oversee and understand that cyber security is not just October, it's every month of every year.”
Legislator Chad Klotzbach read a proclamation regarding how the world has become all things cyber, and people are more "interconnected than ever before but also more susceptible to increased risk of cyber theft, fraud and abuse."
“The county’s IT Department is responsible for delivering secure, accurate timely information and services to county departments, municipalities, residents and visitors effectively and efficiently,” Klotzbach said, reading the proclamation. “Cybersecurity Month provides an opportunity to increase public awareness and understanding of cyber threats while empowering employees and citizens to be safer and more secure online.”
The City of Batavia just received a similar warning during City Council’s audit report earlier this week. That message included being diligent with technology processes, protocols and preventative measures to avoid cyber attacks.
Since 2004, the President of the United States and Congress have declared October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, as a way to help individuals protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more frequent.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA) lead a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise cybersecurity awareness nationally and internationally.
This year’s theme is “See Yourself in Cyber” to enable people to recognize and understand how prevalent the world of cyber is, whether at work, home or school. The CISA.gov website encourages folks to take four personal action steps to help prevent cyber crimes:
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
- Use Strong Passwords
- Recognize and Report Phishing
- Update Your Software
Photo: Genesee County Legislator Chad Klotzbach presents a proclamation this week to IT Director Michael Burns as a prelude to Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October. Photo by Joanne Beck.
