October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month Published Oct. 19, 2009 By Senior Airman Kali L. Gradishar 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- In acknowledgment of October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month, the 52nd Fighter Wing Cyber Surety Office is taking action to ensure all Sabers are aware of the ways they can keep their computers secure. "Everyone needs to be familiar with cyber security and know how to protect themselves. It's not any one person's job. It's everyone's responsibility, from the lowest-ranking enlisted member to the highest-ranking officer," said Tech. Sgt. Amy Smith, 52nd FW Cyber Surety Office information assurance manager. "Our goal is to make users more aware of how to protect their computer systems at home and work, as well as to provide them the knowledge and means to do so." Sabers can take advantage of various programs in place to keep home and work computers functional. Security patches automatically update on network systems, and servicemembers can download anti-virus definitions for computers on .mil domain from https://www.jtfgno.mil and load them onto a CD to transfer the software from this secure site to their home computers for virus protection. Virus protection should also be used for standalone computers on base and external hard drives should be scanned every time they are plugged in. Along with utilizing anti-virus software and spyware, people should "be cautious on social-networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and practice operational security by not releasing information that shouldn't be available to others," Sergeant Smith said. "Cyber security is not any one thing or one system, though," added Master Sgt. Daniel Cartagena, 52nd Fighter Wing Cyber Surety Office section chief. "What we do at work impacts cyber security, but so does what we bring from the outside." Unauthorized USB devices can be disabling to one computer. But when many computers are connected on a network, it can get a lot messier. "Potentially, the use of an unauthorized USB device could potentially bring down an entire network until the virus is cleared," Sergeant Smith said. "Spam and using the reply-to-all function when it is unnecessary can also slow the network down." The cyber surety office's main goal is to educate computer users, aiming for a realization that the cyber threat is just as real as a physical threat. "There's still a threat, just at the keyboard. Being educated and knowing what steps to take for cyber security is very helpful to our country," Sergeant Cartagena said. "In the modern world we're no longer looking at things that are just physical, so we need to have a greater awareness." People don't even need bullets and bombs to cause damage now, he added. To keep all Sabers equipped with network access and the appropriate cyber security procedures, each unit has an information assurance representative. There will be a wing information assurance inspection in January 2010. "You can have all the most wonderful systems in the world, but the weakest link can bring it down," Sergeant Cartagena said. For questions about cyber security, call the wing cyber surety office at DSN 452-5375.