October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month!

Setting your clocks forward or back for Daylight Saving Time and replacing the batteries in smoke detectors are rituals repeated every spring and fall. Similarly, April and October are good times to remind ourselves about Cyberawareness issues. April is Cyber Awareness Month! is a great time to help educators, students and parents learn more about Cyberawareness issues.October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month! is a collective effort among the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the National Cyber Security Division and the National Cyber Security Alliance to raise cyber security awareness nationwide and empower citizens, businesses, government and schools to improve their cyber security preparedness and help promote a safe Internet experience.

With the onslaught of new online threats such as identity theft and spyware, engaging in safe online behavior is crucial. We use computers in virtually every aspects of our lives and we must understand the risks, along with the steps we can take to help protect ourselves and our information online.

While colleges, universities, organizations and businesses across the country plan security education and awareness events to help promote Cyber Security Awareness, Educational Technology Policy, Research, and Outreach continues to plan a month’s worth of activities twice a year (April and October) to help promote the K-20 community’s awareness of cyber related issues and encourage safe online practices. Both an interactive calendar and a printable version are available. You can also print out Student Recognition forms [color ... BW] for your class.

Visit the NCSA interactive calendar to see other events taking place. Also visit our Cyberawareness Blog or take part in our educator Cyberawareness survey.

This calendar format lists Cyber-awareness activities and resources that can help educators and their students celebrate Cyber-awareness Month in April and Cyber Security Awareness Month in October. ETPRO would like to hear about the great things you do during April and October to promote Cyber-awareness. Schools’ participation may be showcased at the ETPRO website and the C3 Conference.

READ MORE to learn more about the History of Cyber Awareness and Cyber Security Awareness Initiatives [More]

Department of Homeland Security and NCSA’s 2006 Emerging Internet Threat List:
Helping Consumers Prepare to Avoid Potential Threats
Released February 15, 2006

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month! Click on a Day for Activity Detail Printable Versions - [Word ... PDF] Completion Certificate for your Students [PDF... Black & White PDF]
Additional resources can be found at: ETPRO's C3 Cybersecurity Portal			1.  Play the ID the Creep Game.: Which items were new to you?	2. Explore imbee, a parent approved, teacher endorsed social networking site appropriate for kids and 'tweens.	3. Play the Norton Cyber Smackdown game to find out their cybersmarts or go head-to-head with friends to test their cybersavvy IQ - and register to win a $10,000 scholarship.	4. Take the “Rules of the Road” test to earn your official PBS Kids Web license!
5. Enter a password, click submit, then  score it against best practices!	6.List 3 reasons Cybersecurity is considered to be a problem. US-CERT	7. Play the AT& T Internet Safety game to see just how much you know.	8. Play the Media Awareness Network Interactive Games to learn more about protecting your privacy as you surf the Internet	9. Try McGruff’s Internet Safety Activities	10. Visit and explore What are three tips to remember in building an online network?	11. Try websafecrakerz Interactive games and puzzles designed with the help of teenagers to offer strategies for dealing with different situations online including spam, cyber-stalking and bullying.
12. Copy Right-Copy Wrong: Are you aware?	13. Review the Student guide to avoiding plagiarism	14. When you write, make it right! Check out copyright!  Which works are copyrighted?	15. What needs to be and what doesn’t need to be cited?	16. Learn more about copyright before turning in your papers	17. Learn more about downloading and copyright from cyberbee	18. When is downloading music illegal?
19. Review NSCA Stay Safe online security/safety tips	20. Get some advice from Nickelodeon using their Online Safety Guide	21. Review Disney’s Safety Tips	22. Play the online phishing game	23. Take the P2P interactive quiz	24. Learn how to protect yourself from  wireless hacking	25. What are 5 steps to protect your computer from viruses?
26. View the National Crime Prevention Council’s Winners of National Cyberbullying PSA Contest and learn how to prevent Cyberbullying	27. What can you do about cyberbullying?	28. List three ways to prevent cyberbullying. Play some interactive games to learn more about how to prevent cyberbullying.	29. View the Interactive media on cyberbullying (flash or non-flash option)	30. Try one of the NetSmartz Internet Safety Games and list one new thing you learned	31. Read SafeKids.com’s Chat room safety tips and list 3 tips that you should remember when chatting online

October 2008 Calendar created by Summer EDUC 698I course (Using Information Technology in the Classroom Setting) members Rebecca Albert, Cemil Alisbah, Gloria Allen, Susan Burke, Darcy Hampton, Clinton Harris, Desiree Heyliger, Steven King, Tim Leonard, Camille Locke, Akida Matthews, Mary Minor, Joi Raigns, Crystal Snowden, and Tonya Williams