Every month is apparently dedicated to awareness or celebration of at least one if not several causes or topics. According to the National Day Calendar which tracks such things, October is a busy one with dozens listed. Some favorites — American Cheese Month, Eat Better Eat Together Month, Chili Month, Pasta Month, Pizza Month and Pork Month. In addition to all of those delicious celebrations, October is also National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Over the past several months, the Alliance has received a few different reports of cyber security concerns related to animal rights activism, such as activists using misleading social media accounts to befriend and seek information from farm employees or schemes to collect information off of company computers using software installed by clicking an email link or even physically accessing a computer. So for all of us in animal agriculture or meat production, cyber security is no longer just about not clicking anything in those sketchy emails or spammy social media posts we all receive. It’s about being mindful of our online presence and use of technology and how that may make us vulnerable to individuals or groups looking to get access to sensitive information in order to target our farms or companies.

Our friends at the Department of Homeland Security recently passed along a few resources on cyber security in honor of October. Here are a few of the top tips:

“Treat business information as personal information.” This includes trade secrets, employee information and financial information. Never share this type of information with unknown parties or using unsecured networks.
“Social media is part of the fraud toolset.” Cybercriminals (and activists) can find out a lot about your organization and employees by searching public websites and social media platforms. Employees should be cautious in what they share and make publicly available.
“Think before you act.” Be especially cautious about any communications that urge you to take action right away. Phishing emails will use this tactic (making you afraid that your account or information is in danger) to make you act rashly and not take precautions. Reach out to the person or company contacting you using a different, trusted communication method to verify what you received.
“Report suspicious or harassing activity.” Always report any suspicious contact you receive via email, social media or other platforms to the appropriate people at your company so they can monitor for trends and alert others to be cautious. Also report any harassment or strange contact on social media to the platform itself and block any users you have concerns about.

Take some time this month to brush up on your cyber security so you can enjoy celebrating chili, cheese and pork this month, worry-free.

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month

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