Tháng 10 là Tháng nâng cao nhận thức về an ninh mạng
Government entities and industry partners across the United States use October to educate people about cybersecurity risks and promote actions that reduce vulnerabilities. Each year, VITA recognizes Cybersecurity Awareness Month with cyber tips and information to keep Virginians secure.
Commonwealth agencies are encouraged to host Cybersecurity Awareness Month campaigns to help staff understand best practices and inspire behavior change. These campaigns can make a tangible impact on your agency's overall cybersecurity by positively influencing staff.
Tips for creating a successful campaign
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Set measurable goals: Identify how you will measure success to demonstrate impact.
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Choose strategic topics: Focus on timely or common issues within your agency.
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Start small: A simple campaign can still make a meaningful impact.
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Get leadership support: Share your plans and collaborate with leaders to build an effective campaign.
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Form a project team: Don't try to do it all on your own. Include cybersecurity staff, communications professionals and other creative team members.
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Encourage staff participation: Host activities, competitions or events to spark conversation, create a sense of shared purpose and make a lasting impact.
Campaign resources
Agency IT resources (AITRs), information security officers (ISOs) and chief information officers (CIOs) can use these resources to host campaigns at their agencies.
Check out the Sept. 2 ISO advisory group (ISOAG) presentation for more information on campaigns and resources. For questions, contact VITA's Commonwealth security and risk management (CSRM) team at commonwealthsecurity@vita.virginia.gov.
Lock It Before You Leave It campaign
In 2025, VITA created a campaign to address staff leaving unattended computers unlocked. This practice leaves computers vulnerable to bad actors and is a serious security risk. To help spread awareness and reinforce positive behaviors, the project team identified tactics to educate staff on the importance of locking computers and track how many computers were left unlocked. Computers left locked received a sticker prize, while unlocked computers were given a message to improve next time.
This campaign resulted in a 71% decrease in unattended computers being left unlocked.
Lock It Before You Leave It resources
Use these materials to make a tangible impact at your agency and convince staff to become lock stars!
Campaign template
Provides more detail to help you bring this campaign to your agency, with tips, key messages, tactics and methodology.
Tờ bướm quảng cáo
Print and post this around your office to remind staff to lock their computers.
Tally tracker
Supplemental material for tracking locked and unlocked computers throughout the campaign.
Unlocked computer note
Print out this note and leave it on desks with unattended, unlocked computers as a friendly reminder to secure their computer the next time they walk away.
Sticker files
Use these files to print out stickers to reward lock stars and help spread awareness.
Additional campaign resources
The Phisher King Cipher Challenge
Challenge employees to solve a series of themed ciphers. Ciphers are puzzles that use algorithms to encrypt and decrypt text with a key.
"AI or Not" quiz
Test team members' ability to spot AI-generated images. You can use these images to create a quiz using MS Forms, or host an in-person event where participants answer aloud or write their guesses. Answers are provided in the notes section of each slide.
Lock-picking village contact
In past years, VITA has partnered with representatives from Rotas Security who bring their lock-picking village for staff to test their physical penetration skills.
Reach out to Nick Popovich at npopovich@rotassec.com to coordinate a visit to your agency.
Word search puzzle
Print out this puzzle for employees to test their cybersecurity knowledge. It can be left in a common area, placed on desks, passed out at a cybersecurity event or used in a competition (first one to complete wins. No internet assistance allowed!).