GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS & ADVOCACY   |   Cyber Security Awareness

Welcome to NASCIO's Cyber Security Awareness Website
Last updated October 2, 2009

• NASCIO Cyber Security Awareness Resource Guide
• Promoting Cyber Security Awareness Month
• NASCIO Resources on Cyber Security Awareness
• State Cyber Security Awareness Websites
• Partner Organization Resources

In support of the sixth annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has partnered with the Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division (NCSD), the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), to promote government’s commitment to securing cyberspace and protecting the citizens who rely on Internet technologies in their daily activities.

Each of these organizations has developed extensive security awareness resources and toolkits that are available through their websites, and links to those and other resources are provided on NASCIO’s Cyber Security Awareness page.

State CIOs and the programs they administer have supported cyber security awareness month from its inception, and states address IT security and privacy awareness, education, and training on a year-round basis. Their efforts have been documented previously in NASCIO briefs, most recently the 2007 publication, IT Security Awareness and Training: Changing the Culture of State Government, as well as through NASCIO Recognition Award submissions, many of which are available on NASCIO’s website.

NASCIO Cyber Security Awareness Resource Guide

For this year’s observance, NASCIO has created a Resource Guide of examples of state awareness programs and initiatives, as an additional resource of best-practice information, together with an interactive state map to allow users to drill-down to the actual resources that states have developed or are using to promote cyber awareness. The compendium augments previously gathered information with data from a just-completed, short survey of state CISOs. It includes contact information for the latter, hyperlinks to state security and security awareness pages, and information describing cyber security awareness, training, and education initiatives that target four categories: Executives/Elected Officials; Citizens; State Workers; and IT Security Personnel.

The Resource Guide is a work-in-progress that should provide a valuable reference resource for Cyber Security Awareness Month, as well as the ongoing planning of security awareness and training efforts state programs may undertake thereafter.

Promoting Cyber Security Awareness Month

• President Obama Expresses Support for Cyber Security Awareness Month Activities
• NASCIO’s Press Release – September 16, 2009
• President Gopal Khanna’s Open Letter to the Media
• "Mutually Assured Survival in Cyber Space", President Gopal Khanna’s Guest Column in Governing, September 8, 2009
• Scheduled State Events
  • Minnesota Office of Enterprise Technology - Fourth Annual Cyber Security Executive Briefing, October 5, 2009
  • Florida Agency of Enterprise Information Technology -- Cyber Security Summit, October 6, 2009. http://www.floridagtc.com/index.cfm; webcast registration.
  • California Office of Information Security – Cyber Security West 2009: Our Shared Responsibility, October 14, 2009. Webcast of keynote speeches; Agenda.
  • West Virginia Office of Technology - Information Security Conference, October 19, 2009 http://www.wv.gov/services/pages/infosec-conference.aspx.  

NASCIO Resources on Cyber Security Awareness

At Risk! Securing Government in a Digital World
January 2008

Technology makes so much possible for government. Yet, when a security breach disrupts government operations—the results can be disastrous.

How serious are the threats against government operating in a digital age? It is like fighting a storm that never ends. The threats are everywhere—outside and inside—and they are there all the time. Always changing and adapting.

• Security at the Edge: Protecting Mobile Computing Devices Part II: Policies on the Use of Personally Owned Smartphones in State Government
  March 2010
• Resource Guide for State Cyber Security Awareness, Education, and Training Initiatives
  September 2009
• Security at the Edge — Protecting Mobile Computing Devices
  July 2009
• Desperately Seeking Security Frameworks – A Roadmap for State CIOs
  March 2009
• Protecting the Realm: Confronting the Realities of State Data at Risk
  September 2008
• IT Security Awareness and Training: Changing the Culture of State Government
  August 2007
• Insider Security Threats: State CIOs Take Action Now!
  April 2007

State Cyber Security Awareness Websites

Partner Organization Resources

MS-ISAC - Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center

• Cyber Security Awareness Resources Page
• 2009 National Cyber Security Awareness Month Page (Includes 2009 Toolkit)
• Cyber Security Awareness Training and Webcasts

National Cybersecurity Alliance / StaySafeOnline.org

• Cyber Security Awareness Month Page

Educause

• Security Awareness Links

ACT-Online - University of Memphis
ACT Online content was developed by the University of Memphis Center for Information Assurance, which is recognized by the US Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. Courses are free of charge to U.S. Citizens.

Staff contact: Charles Robb, Senior Policy Analyst
Phone: 859-514-9209
E-mail: crobb@AMRms.com