Observing National Cyber Security Awareness Month at Your Credit Union

Not only is October Squirrel Awareness Month, National Stamp Collecting Month and AIDS Awareness Month, it’s also National Cyber Security Awareness Month. While the other monthly observances might be of interest to you, it’s the last one that should be important to your credit union. 

National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) originated in 2004 and is sponsored by the National Cyber Security Division of the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance. It’s also fully recognized by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). And it’s a great opportunity for your credit union to focus on cyber security internally and promote it to your membership.

Weekly Focus

NCSAM has further broken down October into weekly themes to help organizations and people focus on what’s important:

• Week 1, October 1-6 Theme: 10 Years and Beyond – General Online Safety and Stop. Think. Connect.
• Week 2, October 7-13
  Theme: Being Mobile – Online Safety and Security
• Week 3, October 14-20
  Theme: Cyber Education and the Next Generation of Cyber Leaders
• Week 4, October 21-27 Theme: Cybercrime
• Week 5, October 28-31 Theme: Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure 

You can learn more about these themes here.

Why It’s Important

We don’t need to explain to credit unions why a secure Internet/online experience is important. You deal with personal and vital member information on a daily basis. But we have a few figures to consider and perhaps share with your members to help emphasize the significance of observing NCSAM. There were 289,874 consumer complaints of Internet fraud and other cybercrimes in 2012, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. These crimes resulted in losses of $525 million. 

CUNA continues to work hard within the credit union industry and in conjunction with Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC), regulators, BITS – the Technology Policy Division of the Financial Services Roundtable – and other organization to ensure it’s on top of all cyber security issues.

Getting the Word Out

This being the age of social media, there’s already a related hashtag for Twitter and Facebook: #NCSAM. So, if your credit union posts anything about NCSAM, be sure to include this hashtag. 

The National Cyber Security Alliance’s website, staysafeonline.org has a page devoted to NCSAM. Here, your credit union can find social media messaging, icons and other resources. This page also has resources you can share with your members including a tip sheet, family discussion pointers and more. 

The Department of Homeland Security has an online toolkit for businesses, educators and individuals as well. Click here to view what’s available in their Stop. Think. Connect. toolkit. It even offers free promotional materials such as printable bookmarks, fact sheets, brochures and posters.

NCSAM is also the perfect opportunity to share with your members how your credit union keeps their financial information and transactions secure as well as make them aware of and help prevent any possible cybercrimes.

If your credit union needs an extra hand protecting its transactions, CU Solutions Group offers fraud prevention support.