Cyber Security Awareness Month (Cyber Month) is an internationally recognized campaign held each October to help the public learn more about the importance of cyber security. The campaign helps Canadians stay secure online by teaching them simple steps to protect themselves and their devices.
Cyber Security Awareness Month digital resources
On this page
- What is Get Cyber Safe?
- What is Cyber Security Awareness Month (Cyber Month)?
- What’s new this year?
- Why become a Cyber Month champion?
- How to participate
- Resources
- Contact
The best way to raise awareness about cyber security is to have more organizations involved – including yours! Each year Get Cyber Safe picks a cyber security topic or theme to promote for Cyber Month. You can choose to use the resources that reflect the yearly theme or the generic Cyber Month resources. Either way, these resources can help make participating easier. Show your audience that you care about their cyber security by using our Cyber Month resources.
What is Get Cyber Safe?
Get Cyber Safe is a Government of Canada public awareness campaign led by the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), with advice from its Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, to inform Canadians about the simple steps they can take to help themselves to stay safe online.
What is Cyber Security Awareness Month (Cyber Month)?
Cyber Month is an internationally recognized campaign held every October to inform the public of the importance of cyber security. Get Cyber Safe is the Canadian lead for Cyber Month.
What's new this year?
Want to participate in Cyber Month but prefer not to use Get Cyber Safe’s 2024 theme? Select from our generic resources to help make participating in Cyber Month easier than ever.
The theme for #CyberMonth2024 is Generation Cyber Safe: Because online security knows no age.
Online security affects all Canadians, regardless of when they were born — that’s why every generation is part of Generation Cyber Safe. This Cyber Month we’re celebrating the unique strengths every generation has when it comes to staying safe online and sharing information on how each generation can use their qualities to help others, too.
Week 1: The most secure generation
Being part of Generation Cyber Safe means understanding the importance of securing your accounts. As a first line of defence, using strong and unique passphrases help protect you from falling victim to online threats like credential stuffing. This week, we’ll discuss various ways to secure your accounts:
- multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- password managers
- passwords and passphrases
- credential stuffing
- limiting the information that you share online
Week 2: The most resourceful generation
Every generation needs the right tools to succeed, especially when it comes to staying safe online. This week, we’ll discuss important tools that can help protect you from common online threats:
- anti-virus protection
- automatic updates
- using a virtual private network (VPN) and securing your network
- cyber security awareness training
- countering malware and ransomware
Week 3: The most social generation
Something all generations have in common is the need to stay connected. When it comes to being online however, there are threats that come with staying social. This week, we’ll discuss:
- phishing
- social media safety
- social engineering
- identity theft and protecting your digital identity
- artificial intelligence (AI) generated content: (Canada.ca/disinformation)
Week 4: The most proactive generation
Being part of Generation Cyber Safe means being proactive about your online safety. Learning cyber security best practices and how to protect yourself online, as well as recovering from an attack, is important. This week we’ll discuss:
- back ups and storage
- small businesses
- virtualization
- cyber security awareness and training
- how to spot a secure business
- working remotely
Week 5: The most helpful generation
One of the most fulfilling things any generation can do is pass on their knowledge. When it comes to Generation Cyber Safe, that means sharing what you know with your friends, family and colleagues so they can stay safe online, too. This week, we’ll discuss:
- promoting Get Cyber Safe and Cyber Centre resources
- how to help others S.C.R.U.B. their devices
- keeping up with emerging tech and AI
- sharing what you know with friends and family
- cyber security awareness training
Why become a Cyber Month champion?
Champions are key to the success of Cyber Month and the Get Cyber Safe campaign. The more Canadians learn about staying safe online, the more resilient we’ll all be against cyber threats.
The best way to raise awareness about cyber security is to have more organizations involved — and that includes yours! Being a Cyber Month champion helps show your audience that you care about their cyber security.
How to participate
- Talk about the importance of Cyber Security Awareness Month with employees within your organization – our internal communication messages can help
- Use our pre‑crafted social messages and graphics to engage your audience - the ones in the toolkit can be co‑branded
- Use our hashtags #CyberMonth2024, #GetCyberSafe, and tag @GetCyberSafe to be a part of the conversation
- Reach out to collaborate, tag us in your posts and share your successes with us!
Resources
Check out our Cyber Month themed and generic resources!
Contact Get Cyber Safe
Thank you for helping to keep Canadians safe online by promoting cyber security! If you have any questions or concerns or would like more information on Cyber Month or the Get Cyber Safe campaign, please contact us by email at contact@cyber.gc.ca.
