Cyber Awareness

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Each year, VITA recognizes Cybersecurity Awareness Month with cyber tips and information to keep Virginian's secure.

In 2024, we created three short films which parody horror movie classics with a cybersecurity spin. Check out "Deception," "IT: The Phishing" and "Day of the Cyber Zombies" below. You can check out all our Cybersecurity Awareness Month videos from over the years in our YouTube playlist. 

Deception

Image of a woman holding a phone. She is looking directly into the camera with a scared look on her face. The image is in black and white. Text at the top reads

Deception," based on the movie Scream, highlights three rules to stay safe — always be suspicious, keep calm, and act fast if you've been hacked.

 

IT: The Phishing

Movie poster of a man in a yellow jacket with the hood up. He is standing in an office hallway with cubicles on either side of him. He is facing away from the camera, holding a red balloon. There is a black vignette around him with sinister eyes peeking out of the darkness at the top of the image. The words

“IT: The Phishing,” based on the movie IT, follows an ordinary office worker who starts receiving urgent emails featuring classic signs of a phishing attack: prompts for immediate action, typos and suspicious email addresses.

 

Day of the Cyber Zombies

Two men posing with one holding a hand sanitizer dispenser as a weapon, the other with a bat. They stand in front of red hands grasping towards the sky, some holding thumbdrives and computer mice. Text at the top reads

In "Day of the Cyber Zombies," inspired by Shaun of the Dead, Shaun is oblivious to cyberthreats as he meanders through his workday. This is a reminder that cyberthreats are everywhere, even at the office. Lock your computer when you leave your desk and never plug in a used thumb drive.

 

 

Our Collection of Cyber Resources

Cyber Resources and Community Outreach

Cyber criminals do not discriminate; they target vulnerable computer systems regardless of whether they are part of a large corporation, a small business or belong to a home user. Check out these resources available all in one place for students, parents, educators and localities. 

For Localities

Cybersercurity Awareness Program Government Resources

In order to provide thousands of essential public services ranging from disaster assistance to social security to water and electricity, all levels of government must ensure their cyber infrastructure is safe, secure and resilient. Below, find resources and materials for state and local government officials and employees to get informed about cybersecurity.

  • Cybersecurity grant program specifically for state, local and territorial (SLT) governments across the country. Please visit our Grant Programs page for more information.

  • Visit the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) for cyber threat prevention, protection, response and recovery for the nation's state, local, territorial and tribal (SLTT) governments.

  • Collaborate across the federal government to enhance the nation’s cybersecurity posture through DHS' Federal Network Resilience.

  • Share information and best practices through the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Federal Agency Security Practices (FASP).

  • In partnership with Fusion Center, VSP, VDEM and VITA: Report a Cyber Incident.
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