Cybersecurity Awareness Month needs a radical overhaul – it needs legislation

As we enter October, governments, non-profit organizations, cybersecurity vendors and many companies with corporate social responsibility teams are all likely gearing up to push out some useful tips on staying safe online. Without even looking at the official theme of this year’s edition of the campaign, I rattled off the usual advice to a colleague last week – use strong and unique passwords, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA), and avoid clicking on phishing links – and sure enough, I captured almost all the main points of this year’s official “Secure Our World” theme.

Now, given the abundance of such well-intentioned guidance circulating each October, you could be forgiven for thinking that this should be enough to help create a safe and secure cyberspace. But is it, really? Has this advice been effective in driving meaningful behavioral change and in helping address the growing security risks of today and tomorrow? Perhaps it ...