OCTOBER IS CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS MONTH IN HAWAI‘I

Posted on Oct 2, 2023 in Featured, News, Press Release

HONOLULU – Governor Josh Green, M.D., has proclaimed October Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Hawai‘i, in recognition of the state’s role in identifying, protecting its citizens from, and responding to cyber threats.

“This year marks the 20th year of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which helps to raise awareness about cyber risks and encourages everyone to engage in safe online practices to protect themselves from malicious cyber actors,” said Governor Green. “Every year cybersecurity becomes more important as our daily lives depend more and more on safe online communications.”

The proclamation supports the state’s continuing work on several cybersecurity initiatives, such as promoting educational opportunities like CyberStart America (https://www.cyberstartamerica.org/) and developing a skilled cyber workforce by working within lower and higher education communities.

The state is also working to enhance the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure providers and continuing its work in improving coordination of county, city, state and federal government activities to provide security online and fight cybercrime.

“Cybersecurity is critical for the state as threats continue to increase around the world. We are constantly working to improve and strengthen our cybersecurity strategies. Being vigilant about personal cybersecurity is key to protecting your finances and keeping your family secure,” said State Chief Information Security Officer Vincent Hoang of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services.

To learn more about the state’s cybersecurity program, visit http://ets.hawaii.gov/state-of-hawaii-cyber-security-program/.

Partner agencies include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), and the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA).

The State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Office of Consumer Protection also works to identify potential personal cybersecurity attacks to protect our residents from fraudulent online activities (https://cca.hawaii.gov/ocp/). The State Department of Defense, Office of Homeland Security provides planning and training efforts to prevent, protect, mitigate and respond to government cyber threats (https://dod.hawaii.gov/ohs/cyber).

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month MS-ISAC offers the “Cybersecurity Toolkit,” which is available for download at www.cisecurity.org/ms-isac/ms-isac-toolkit. The toolkit is designed to help end users make proactive positive and effective cybersecurity behavior changes to improve their cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Hawai‘i coincides with the national observance, recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (www.dhs.gov/cyber), the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (www.cisecurity.org/ms-isac), and industry partners, which collectively encourage all citizens to learn about cybersecurity to put that knowledge into practice in their homes, schools, workplaces, and businesses.

Read the Cybersecurity Awareness Month proclamation at https://drive.google.com/file/d/15MdbBUOCifOz12ee8jZEziXP3qVQyx_m/view

Hawaii CIO Douglas Murdock and Chief Information Security Officer Vincent Hoang displaying the 2023 Cybersecurity Month proclamation.

Hawaii CIO Douglas Murdock and Chief Information Security Officer Vincent Hoang displaying the 2023 Cybersecurity Month proclamation.