Creating and changing laws to protect American citizens from computer-based threats is a lengthy process, with many variables involved. In the meantime, the U.S. government has been taking other steps to provide its citizens with powerful tools of protection by giving them tools to educate themselves.
On Oct. 1, President Barrack Obama kicked off National Cybersecurity Awareness Month by issuing a proclamation outlining his plan to make the Internet safer for the American citizens. In this proclamation are links to educational websites sponsored by the government as well as an introduction to his “Stop. Think. Connect.” campaign.
According to President Obama, this campaign can help Americans to, “…learn about and become more aware of risks in cyberspace, and be empowered to make choices that contribute to our overall security.”
The President’s proclamation and the “Stop. Think. Connect.” campaign do encompass a few aspects of what the U.S. Government is doing to improve cybersecurity in this country. They are empowering the American people to know what dangers there are and what to do about these dangers.
In his proclamation, the President states, “All Americans must recognize our shared responsibility and play an active role in securing the cyber networks we use every day.” And that includes government and citizens under the same category, similar to the mentality behind “We the People…”
This point was reinforced when Howard Schmidt, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator and Special Adviser to the President, posted an update to the official White House blog, where he made a statement about the “Stop. Think. Connect.” campaign as a way, “… to help all digital citizens employ universal behaviors to protect themselves, no matter what they are doing online or how they are connecting to the Internet.”
The U.S. Government understands well one point: knowledge is important. A large number of computer crimes and most viruses and malware are designed to specifically target the unknowing and unsuspecting computer users of the world. If everyone knows what a “phishing site” is and how to avoid it, then the effectiveness of those scams would naturally drop significantly.
Two tools given to the American citizens are DHS.gov/Cyber and OnGuardOnline.gov, which President Obama mentioned in his proclamation. The DHS.gov/Cyber webpage has over three dozen links to websites designed to teach people about Internet security. OnGuardOnline.gov is designed to guide a person through the educational experience with ease.
Even if one does not know much (or anything) about computers or the Internet, one can still benefit from the knowledge.
Aside from educational campaigns, the U.S. Government has been implementing ways to monitor and protect computers and networks.
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