The Office of Guam Homeland Security and Office Of Civil Defense, in coordination with the Guam Office of Technology, will lead this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month initiatives. 

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero will recognize the national month with a proclamation signing on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Governor’s Complex in Adelup.

This year’s theme is “Building A Cyber Strong America.”

Homeland Security Advisor Esther Aguigui says the effort is about fostering a culture of preparedness and promoting strong cyber hygiene as a shared responsibility.

Locally, GHS, OTECH, and the Mariana Regional Fusion Center have launched “Change Your Password Day” on October 20, encouraging the community to update important passwords to stay safe online.

Participate in Change Your Password Day by following these important tips for creating a secure password:

Make Your Passwords Strong

By adding just a little bit of complexity to a password, it can be secure for life. One tip is to choose random characters with mixed letter cases, numbers and symbols. Adding a symbol or two, to a short password increases security.

Use Different Passwords

Each online account should have a different password. Hacking into one account may lead to access to other accounts, just by changing a few characters.

Avoid the Obvious

A brute-force program can hack a common, random dictionary password quickly. Any program or person can get a hold of birthdates, anniversaries and phone numbers very quickly on the internet. Do not choose obvious passwords.

Longer Is Better

Whether using characters, symbols and numbers or passphrases, longer is always better. Make sure to use at least seven characters or more, if you can.

Keep It Weird

No matter which type of password you use, add strange characters or symbols and numbers to throw any brute-force program off the trail. Adding spaces to a password will help. If adding a space is not possible, add an underscore or other punctuation.

Do Not Use These Passwords

Do not use the following common passwords: Password1, password, 123456, 12345678, qwerty, abc123.

Change It Often

Change passwords every 3 to 6 months.