Summary

Proclamation promotes awareness in the month of October

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As the world becomes increasingly “cyber dependent,” the Metropolitan King County Council reminded citizens to take steps to protect their electronic records during its declaration of October as Cyber Security Awareness Month in King County.

The proclamation is in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance declaration of October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

“Every year cyber security becomes a more serious issue as it impacts so many aspects of our lives. Our world is increasingly connected through cyberspace and therefore we are more vulnerable, financially, in our infrastructure and our health care. It’s imperative that everyone be more vigilant and aware,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert, the sponsor of the proclamation. “This can start with the passwords we use. Be sure that you are not using common words like superman, baseball, password or access as your passwords. Make sure you have a secure password as a precaution. Don’t open attachments from people you don’t know and/or if they look suspicious. Everyone needs to be very aware.”

In addition to internal cyber security efforts, King County is promoting the national “Stop.Think.Connect.” campaign with tips to help businesses, organizations and individuals to keep their online data safe and secure. The campaign offers simple tips for using strong passwords and privacy settings online, and advice such as not opening e-mail attachments or links from suspicious sources.

More information is available at www.stopthinkconnect.org, and www.staysafeonline.org.

Ralph Johnson, King County’s Chief Information and Security and Privacy Officer, (holding proclamation) joins Councilmembers after the County Council declared October “Cyber Security Awareness Month” in King County.

WHEREAS, King County recognizes that it has a vital role in identifying and protecting its citizens from, and responding to, cyber threats that may have significant impact to our individual and collective security and privacy; and

WHEREAS, critical infrastructure sectors are increasingly reliant on information systems and technology to support financial services, energy, telecommunications, transportation, utilities, health care, and emergency response systems; and

WHEREAS, the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign serves as the national cybersecurity public awareness campaign, implemented through a coalition of private companies, nonprofit and government organizations, as well as academic institutions working together to increase the understanding of cyber threats and empowering the American public to be safer and more secure online; and

WHEREAS, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Critical Infrastructure Cyber Community (C3) Voluntary Program have been developed as free resources to help public and private organizations to implement the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and improve their cybersecurity practices through a practical approach to addressing evolving threats and challenges; and

WHEREAS, maintaining the security of cyberspace is a shared responsibility in which each of us has a critical role to play, and awareness of computer security essentials will improve the security of King County’s information, infrastructure, and economy; and

WHEREAS, the President of the United States, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (www.dhs.gov/cyber), the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (www.msisac.org), the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (www.nascio.org), and the National Cyber Security Alliance (www.staysafeonline.org) all recognize October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month;

NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Metropolitan King County Council, proclaim October 2016, as