As the month of October is winding down, we wanted to spend the last week of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month informing you about the effect cybersecurity can have on critical infrastructure.

While critical infrastructure is not directly a workplace topic, it has the ability to drastically affect our daily work lives. In fact, the National Cybersecurity Alliance claims critical infrastructure is so important that an error in the system not only effects the workplace, but has the ability to have “significant and even catastrophic consequences for our nation.”

So what exactly is critical infrastructure? The Department of Homeland Security defines it as specific sectors whose assets, systems, and networks are so crucial to the United States that without them functioning properly, there would be a debilitating effect on the nation. There are 16 different sectors of critical infrastructure, and each system is operated through the internet.

We have talked about how cyber breaches can affect your business, but they have the potential to take it a step further and cause problems in our nation's electrical, financial, transportation, and many other systems. Our nation depends on the internet in ways we do not always realize. As the dependence on the internet increases for our nation's functionality, so does the number of cyber attacks. The only people who can protect our nation’s cybersecurity, are us.

Do your part in securing our nation's network by taking easy and simple steps such as:

• Securing your Wi-Fi network.
• Keeping your passwords strong.
• Staying informed. 
• Being cautious of emails and links you open.

The FTC has expanded on these tips in protecting our nation’s critical infrastructure. Click here to learn more!

October may be coming to an end, but the importance of cybersecurity doesn’t end here. At The IT Company our goal is to continually update you all on cybersecurity as information is released. We ask that you join us in protecting your workplace security, as well as our nation’s security, by staying alert and informed!