Governor Proclaims Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023

WHEREAS, the State of North Carolina plays a vital role in identifying, protecting residents from, and responding to cybersecurity threats that could have a significant impact on 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, North Carolina’s Whole-of-State approach to cybersecurity provides for increased threat intelligence sharing, enhanced preparedness, and a unified approach to statewide cyber defense; and

WHEREAS, the North Carolina Joint Cybersecurity Task Force provides crucial services to North Carolina in preventing and responding to cybersecurity breaches and attacks; and

WHEREAS, cyberattacks, which are ever evolving and growing more sophisticated, continue to be an increasing concern for state, local, and academic institutions due to their potentially devastating impact to the state’s critical infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, people can help protect themselves from phishing, viruses, malware, and loss of sensitive data by developing good cyber habits, such as monitoring their accounts, being mindful of what they share online, keeping operating systems and applications up to date, creating strong, unique passwords and changing them regularly, enabling multi-factor authentication where possible, and installing anti-virus programs and firewalls; and

WHEREAS, all people, businesses, government agencies, and schools play a critical role in maintaining the security of cyberspace and the awareness of cybersecurity essentials will improve the security of North Carolina's information, infrastructure, and economy;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ROY COOPER, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim October, 2023, as “CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS MONTH” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.