BRUSSELS, Belgium – European Cybersecurity Month is an annual campaign that promotes cybersecurity awareness and best online practices. Each year in October, hundreds of activities take place across Europe including conferences, workshops, trainings, webinars, presentations and more, to educate the public about online threats and the importance of digital safety.
The 2024 edition, themed #ThinkB4UClick, focuses on protecting against social engineering, a growing trend where scammers use impersonators, phishing emails or fake offers to trick people into performing certain online actions or giving away sensitive or personal information. The campaign aims to promote cybersecurity among citizens and organisations and provides information about online security through awareness-raising activities and sharing of good practices.
The EU works on various fronts to promote cyber resilience. The EU Cybersecurity Strategy aims to build resilience to cyber threats and ensure citizens and businesses benefit from trustworthy digital technologies, while the EU Cyber Solidarity Act brings forward concrete measures that will allow the EU to respond to threats and attacks.
In 2022, the shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the EU ranged between 260 000 and 500 000. A recent survey on cybersecurity skills highlighted the need to raise awareness and provide training on cybersecurity. To address this skills gap, the Cybersecurity Skills Academy was launched as an online platform, offering a range of cybersecurity skills courses accessible to everyone across Europe.