SonicWall Champions Commitment to Promote, Educate and Defend Online Safety During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Cybersecurity awareness initiatives highlight importance of empowering individuals, organizations to better protect their part of boundless cybersecurity in the hyper-distributed era

MILPITAS, Calif. — OCT. 1, 2020 — As enterprises, businesses, government agencies, colleges and universities embrace the new norm of dispersed workforces, remote classrooms and expanding distributed networks, security and privacy are top of mind.

Championing the growing global effort to promote the awareness of online safety and privacy, SonicWall today announced its continued support of the 17th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NSCAM). The month-long event helps educate and motivate individuals and organizations to take responsibility for their role in protecting cyberspace.

“While technology — a luxury turned necessity — continues to improve the quality of lives and economies around the world, some individuals will naturally try to navigate around it or simply bypass it altogether, placing themselves and their organization at risk,” said SonicWall President and CEO Bill Conner. “Now that mobile and remote workforces rely upon extended distributed networks that include everything from corporate offices to homes, global cybersecurity awareness initiatives are key to educating the masses on the importance of doing their part to protect everything from personal devices, home networks, critical data and infrastructure.”

The National Cybersecurity Awareness Month social media theme of ‘Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.’ is supported by the program’s overarching message, ‘If you Connect it, Protect it,’ which dives into the importance of keeping connected devices safe and secure from outside influence. Weekly focus areas will revolve around:

• Understanding and following general security hygiene for connected devices and home networks
• The importance of securing connected devices for remote workers
• How connected devices play a pivotal role in the future of healthcare; and
• The overall future of connected devices for consumers, professionals and the public domain

“In the physical world, we all know a chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” said Chad Sweet, Founder and CEO The Chertoff Group. “The same is true in cyber. None of us want to be that weak link — failing to protect ourselves, our families or our businesses. As key players like NCSA, DHS and SonicWall have rightly challenged us to do, we need to use National Cybersecurity Awareness Month as a call to action for all of us to recommit to strengthening the ‘links’ where we play a critical role at home, in the office and in our communities.”

National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is co-led by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. For more information about ways to stay safe online visit https://staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/ and/or cisa.gov/ncsam.

“Cybersecurity is important to the success of all businesses and organizations. NCSA is proud to have such a strong and active community helping to encourage proactive behavior and prioritize cybersecurity in their organizations,” said Kelvin Coleman, Executive Director, NCSA.

For more information about National Cybersecurity Awareness Month visit the SonicWall blog.

About SonicWall

SonicWall delivers Boundless Cybersecurity for the hyper-distributed era in a work reality where everyone is remote, mobile and unsecure. SonicWall safeguards organizations mobilizing for their new business normal with seamless protection that stops the most evasive cyberattacks across boundless exposure points and increasingly remote, mobile and cloud-enabled workforces. By knowing the unknown, providing real-time visibility and enabling breakthrough economics, SonicWall closes the cybersecurity business gap for enterprises, governments and SMBs worldwide. For more information, visit www.sonicwall.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

About Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is designed to engage and educate public- and private-sector partners through events and initiatives with the goal of raising awareness about cybersecurity to increase the resiliency of the nation in the event of a cyber incident. Since the Presidential proclamation establishing Cybersecurity Awareness Month in 2004, the initiative has been formally recognized by Congress, federal, state and local governments and leaders from industry and academia. This united effort is necessary to maintain a cyberspace that is safer and more resilient and remains a source of tremendous opportunity and growth for years to come. For more information, visit staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/

About NCSA

NCSA is the Nation’s leading nonprofit, public-private partnership promoting cybersecurity and privacy education and awareness. NCSA works with a broad array of stakeholders in government, industry and civil society. NCSA’s primary partners are the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and NCSA’s Board of Directors, which includes representatives from ADP; AIG; American Express; Bank of America; Cofense; Comcast Corporation; Eli Lilly and Company; ESET North America; Facebook; Intel Corporation; Lenovo; LogMeIn; Marriott International; Mastercard; MediaPro; Microsoft Corporation; Mimecast; KnowBe4; NortonLifeLock; Proofpoint; Raytheon; Trend Micro, Inc.; Uber: U.S. Bank; Visa and Wells Fargo. NCSA’s core efforts include Cybersecurity Awareness Month (October); Data Privacy Day (Jan. 28); STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™, the global online safety awareness and education campaign co-founded by NCSA and the Anti-Phishing Working Group with federal government leadership from the Department of Homeland Security; and CyberSecure My Business™, which offers webinars, web resources and workshops to help businesses be resistant to and resilient from cyberattacks. For more information on NCSA, please visit https://staysafeonline.org.