‘Change Your Password Day’ Rescheduled to October 29, 2018; Participate in Cybersecurity Awareness Month

The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense (GHS/OCD) remind the community to participate in National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) throughout the rest of October. Lieutenant Governor Ray Tenorio declared NCSAM with a proclamation signing on Friday, October 12, 2018.

NCSAM is a Department of Homeland Security annual campaign to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity. The Internet touches almost all aspects of everyone’s daily life. NCSAM is designed to engage and educate public and private sector partners through events and initiatives to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity, provide them with tools and resources needed to stay safe online, and increase the resiliency of the Nation in the event of a cyber incident.

In 2017, GHS/OCD, along with the Mariana Regional Fusion Center (MRFC), began a local initiative to have ‘Change Your Password Day’ where the community is encouraged to update important cyber passwords in order to stay safe online. Due to Super Typhoon Yutu, it has been rescheduled from October 25 to Monday, October 29 at 10:29 a.m.

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.

To learn more about National Cyber Security Awareness Month and ways to participate visit:

GHS/OCD website: http://ghs.guam.gov/
National Cyber Security Alliance website: https://staysafeonline.org/ncsam/
Dept. of Homeland Security: https://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month

For more information, contact Public Information Officer Jenna G. Blas at (671) 478-0208 or via email at jenna.g.blas@ghs.guam.gov.

X Flooding is a temporary overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. Flooding may happen with only a few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. There are many possible causes of floods including heavy rain, coastal storms and storm surge, waterway overflow from being blocked with debris, or overflow of levees, dams, or waste water systems. Flooding can occur slowly over many days or happen very quickly with little or no warning, called flash floods.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/floods

Wildfire

Regularly clean the roof and gutters.
Maintain an area approximately 30’ away from you home that is free of anything that will burn, such as wood piles, dried leaves, newspapers and other brush.
Connect garden hoses long enough to reach any area of the home and fill garbage cans, tubs, or other large containers with water.
Review your homeowner's insurance policy and also prepare/update a list of your home's contents.

Fire Weather

Turn on your TV/radio. You’ll get the latest weather updates and emergency instructions.
Know where to go. If you are ordered to evacuate, know the route to take and have plan of where you will go. Check-in with your friends and family.
Keep your car fueled, in good condition, and stocked with emergency supplies and a change of clothes.

Drought

Conserve water

Take shorter showers.

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.
Run the washer less frequently and only when you have a full load.
Water your lawn less frequently and do so when the temperature is cooler in the early morning or late evening.
When you run the tap to heat or cool water, keep a pitcher to store the water and use it to water plants.
Avoid washing your car.

Practice fire prevention

Don't set off fireworks when conditions are dry.
Deposit cigarette butts in the proper receptacle to avoid starting a
Pour water over camp fires and backyard fire pits to ensure they are completely out before leaving them unattended.

Follow directions from local officials. If there are restrictions on water usage, be sure to heed them.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/wildfires and https://www.ready.gov/drought

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Typhoons/Hurricanes are massive storm systems that form over the water and move toward land. Threats from typhoons/hurricanes include high winds, heavy rainfall, storm surge, coastal and inland flooding, and rip currents.

“Hurricanes” form in the Atlantic Northeast Pacific region and “Typhoons” form in the Northwest Pacific Region. These large storms are call cyclones in other parts of the world.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes.