Cyber awareness is a year round concern

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Dillon Johnston
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  As October comes to an end, so does National Cyber Security Awareness Month, but that doesn't mean Team Mildenhall members have to stop being diligent in keeping information secure.

Safeguarding personally identifiable information, operational readiness and service member movement documents stored in a secure manner is key to keeping the mission running smoothly and safely. Doing simple self-checks is all it takes to ensure information stays in the right hands.

Staying current on information assurance training, making sure common access cards are not left unattended and properly labeling storage devices are some easy methods of keeping information secure.

Outside the workplace, cyber security measures can be as easy as making the name on a wireless router hidden, protecting it from possible intrusions, and having a unique password for the network.

"If we practice good security at home, we practice good security at work," said Staff Sgt. Jarrett Strother, 100th Air Refueling Wing information assurance NCO in charge from Angelton, Texas.

Limiting information on social media sites is one way to practice good cyber security at home and at work. Disabling location services and not posting exact locations is a way to deter possible attackers guessing and keep service members safe.

Another big threat to cyber security is plain and simple, forgetfulness. If an email containing sensitive material is sent over an unsecure medium, or the user forgets the encryption, it contaminates every system the file comes in contact with, making the 100th Communications Squadron's job a lot harder.

"If someone is careless, enters classified information into an email and sends it over an unclassified system, that causes a lot of problems," said U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Weston Skelton, 100th ARW emissions security manager from Caddo Mills, Texas.

Cyber awareness involves every user being thoughtful and making the right call whenever they handle sensitive information. This requires Team Mildenhall members to take personal responsibility for the security of the base's electronic data so the mission can continue to go off without a hitch year round.