[This was originally published on the OSVDB blog.]
October has been named “National Cyber Security Awareness Month” by some. From a news article about this:
New York State, the University of North Carolina and the city of Charlotte, N.C., are joining the Department of Homeland Security, the National Cyber Security Alliance and numerous companies from the computer security industry to promote educational initiatives and free software giveaways to encourage the adoption of good cyber security practices in small businesses and citizens’ homes.
While security alliances, states and cities are grabbing their pom-poms, I’ll play the role of cynic. This awareness month means nothing to security companies and software developers that practice good security year round. As the article says, this awareness month is for businesses and end users which is good in theory. But will it help? You can answer this yourself actually. Find a friend or neighbor and ask them what other things we are supposed to be ‘aware’ of in the month of October. If your friend can’t remind you that it is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Energy Awareness Month, or Lupus Awareness Month, then this awareness month may fail too. Did you know there were more? Check out this great list of “Bizzare, Crazy, Silly, Unknown Holidays & Observances in October”.