Staying Safe Online

This month, we recognize the role we all play in ensuring our information and communications infrastructure is interoperable, secure, reliable, and open to all. NCSAM reminds us that being safer and more secure online is a shared responsibility. That’s why, during the month of October we pay special attention to “Achieving Cybersecurity Together.”

At the White House, we encourage you to take a few basic steps to be more secure:

• Set strong passwords, and don’t share them with anyone.
• Keep a clean machine – install regular updates to your operating system, browser, and other critical software applications.
• Maintain an open dialogue with your family, friends, and community about Internet safety.
• Carefully choose the amount of personal information you post online and use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely.
• Be cautious about what you receive or read online – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Please help us continue to spread the word about how to stay safe online.

[Michael Daniel is Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator]