This manual offers a step-by-step approach toward comprehending, identifying, and protecting against dangerous online threats.
Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE) wants to emphasize the significance of cyber security throughout October, which is recognized as Canada’s Cyber Security Awareness Month (#CyberMonth2023).
It is crucial that Canada’s more vulnerable populations, which include immigrants who spend a lot of time online, are made aware of the significance of cyber security and are educated on the specific safety measures they can take. This topic is particularly crucial for newcomers to Canada.
Relating to the 2023 Cyber Security Awareness Month
The focus of Cyber Security Awareness Month in 2023 is “Step up your Cyber fitness.”
The focus of this theme, according to CSE in a recent news release, is on developing “the ability to identify, react, and respond to online threats by taking small and easy steps.”
The National Defence Minister of Canada, Bill Blair, emphasized the significance of Cyber Security Awareness Month by stating that it is “an opportunity to demonstrate to Canadians how simple it can be to implement effective cyber security measures in their everyday lives, [important because] cyber security… affects everyone and makes Canada’s digital spaces safer.”
More information: Additional Canadian government content for Cyber Security Awareness Month 2023
Learning About Cyber Safety for Five Weeks
Lessons centered on “educating Canadians about cyber security best practices and how to maintain them throughout the year” will cover the following subjects, which will be covered in several lessons:
Week One: Warm-up
Cyber Month 2023’s first week is devoted to teaching fundamental skills, such as “common cyberthreats, [learning about] tools to keep you safe online, [and taking] simple steps to practice getting cyber safe.” Understanding key terms like phishing, a type of scam frequently carried out against newcomers “where a hacker poses as a legitimate business or organization… to fool the victim into [providing] sensitive personal information or inducing them to click a link or attachment that ends up delivering” a virus, is one of the first steps in ensuring online safety.
Week Two: Account Exercise
The second week of the course is all about safeguarding your online accounts by learning how to “use strong and unique passwords/passphrases, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA), and avoid phishing (and social engineering) scams.” When it comes to maintaining your online anonymity, the significance of a secure password is enormous. Protecting sensitive information, such as bank account information, and making sure that personal data does not get into the wrong hands require strong account protection.
Learning self-defense in Week 3
The third week of #CyberMonth2023 is all about device protection. This can be done by installing anti-virus software, using a virtual private network (VPN), and taking precautions to safeguard your home Wi-Fi.
For instance, VPNs shield your online identity by preventing unauthorized eyes from perhaps “spying on you as you navigate the web.” These are but a few of the tools that immigrants to Canada can use to safeguard themselves from hackers and other online security risks.
Week Four: Keeping Muscle
The topic of automating cyber security using technologies like a password manager, automatic gadget upgrades, and data backups is covered in week four’s lesson plan for Canadians. All of these procedures assist give an additional layer of security to the personal information kept on your computer, smartphone, and other devices. They are helpful for both newcomers to Canada and all Canadians.
Week 5: The Power of Numbers
The final week of Cyber Month in 2023 will teach Canadians how to impart the knowledge they have gained to more vulnerable friends and family members, such as elderly people and young children. To do this, newcomers to Canada can use the resources listed below as well as spread the Get Cyber Safe campaign to their loved ones.
Resources and Advice for Canadian Newcomers on Cyber Safety
The list that follows provides numerous useful suggestions for newcomers to Canada who want to ensure their online safety.
1. Recognizing genuine IRCC communications from con artists’ communications
Newcomers to Canada may be readily deceived by what appear to be legitimate digital communications from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in today’s online world. These communications, though, could just as readily come from knowledgeable internet crooks.
Make sure you only respond to communications you requested or requested to avoid this. It is safer to assume that any links or material contained in any email or other contact you receive that you did not request (unsolicited) is a scam and unreliable.
2. Distinguishing between phony immigration websites and reliable information sources
The two official languages of Canada, English and French, are frequently included in reliable government sources. Additionally, these web pages’ URLs will start with “Canada.ca” or terminate with “gc.ca”. You shouldn’t put your trust in websites that pose as being from the Canadian government but lack these security measures.
3. Checking service providers to prevent further immigration fraud, and
All companies offering verified immigration services will also have websites to support their offerings. This is also true of fraudulent actors, though, who wish to present themselves as respectable service providers.
Online official Canadian registries and directories exist to confirm the legitimacy of persons who are authorized to represent immigrants and offer immigration assistance in order to protect newcomers to Canada. For instance, in order to practice law, Canadian immigration lawyers and notaries must all be members of the relevant province or territorial law organization.
Resources for Government Cybersecurity
The IRCC offers this Protect Yourself from Immigration Fraud webpage, which outlines various types of immigration fraud and offers learning materials as well as content related to next steps regarding what to do if you are a victim of fraud, for additional advice and resources to make sure newcomers stay cyber-safe.
The Canadian government also offers this Resources page for Cyber Month 2023 as part of the Get Cyber Safe initiative this year.
Cybersecurity in 2023 and Beyond
All newcomers to Canada can benefit greatly from understanding and putting into practice cyber security best practices because these abilities are essential to your family’s safety and well-being. Cybersecurity is essential to leading a happy and fulfilling life in Canada, from making sure you protect your finances to making sure your sensitive information is secure and out of the wrong hands.
Engage with the hashtag #CyberMonth2023 online to participate in Cyber Security Awareness Month and learn more about how to keep you and your family secure this year and in the future. You should also maintain constant awareness as you enter Canada and start your new life here.