National Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Since 2004, the President of the United States and Congress have declared October to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a time dedicated for the public and private sectors to work together to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity.
Over the years, it has grown into a collaborative effort between government and industry to enhance cybersecurity awareness, encourage actions by the public to reduce online risk, and generate discussion on cyber threats on a national and global scale.
CISA announced the federal theme for this year is Building a Cyber Strong America, which highlights the need to strengthen the country’s infrastructure against cyber threats, ensuring resilience and security. Like last year’s campaign, CISA emphasizes four cybersecurity basics, which are essential steps to safeguard data and enable employees to stop attacks before they happen:
- Teach employees to avoid phishing scams.
- Require strong passwords.
- Require multifactor authentication (MFA).
- Update business software.
This year, CISA is building on the basics with additional recommended practices:
- Use logging on your systems.
- Back up your data.
- Encrypt data.
Similarly, the National Cybersecurity Alliance’s (NCA) theme for this year is Stay Safe Online, which highlights the simple ways to protect yourself, your family and your business from online threats by focusing on the Core 4.
- Use strong passwords and a password manager.
- Turn on MFA.
- Recognize and report scams.
- Update software.
Oklahoma participates in Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2025
On Aug. 13, 2025 Gov. Stitt proclaimed October 2025 as Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
For the third consecutive year, the governor’s proclamation highlights the critical importance of online safety. It serves as a reminder that protecting personal data and securing the state's digital infrastructure is a shared responsibility, especially at a time when bad actors are using artificial intelligence to advance threat tactics.
Past proclamations:
