October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

As we enter October, the month dedicated to Cybersecurity Awareness, it’s crucial that each of us, as employees, understand our role in maintaining the security of our company, especially during the peak demand of the heating season in the propane business.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has free resources and live events you can use and participate in to support Cybersecurity Awareness Month.  There are four easy ways to stay safe online:

• Use strong passwords
• Turn on multifactor authentication (MFA)
• Recognize and report phishing (Think before you click)
• Update your software

One best practice to protect your company is to work with your IT department or service provider to update your software and manage your cybersecurity needs. Your IT service can handle many of the items recommended by CISA. Another best practice is to train your employees on recognizing and reporting phishing or attempts to gain control of your system.

According to Terranova Security, 96% of all phishing attacks are delivered via email. Surprisingly, 90% of data breaches are the result of phishing attacks. Interisle’s annual survey noted that from April 2023 to April 2024, there were just under 1.9 million phishing incidents worldwide, almost four attacks per minute.

At the NPGA Fall Marketers Section meeting in San Antonio, attendees will hear from George Reeves, the CISA Supervisory Cybersecurity Advisor for Region Six. George will speak on current threats, CISA’s responsibilities in response and detection, and what small businesses can do to protect their assets. For more information, please visit CISA’s Cybersecurity Best Practices or contact Eric Sears, NPGA’s Senior Manager of State Association Relations, at [email protected].