Cyber Security Awareness Month 2025: Get Involved and Stay Secure 

30.09.25

General

October is recognised globally as Cyber Security Awareness Month, a time to reflect on how we can all stay safe online and protect our organisations from ever-evolving threats. Cyber crime continues to grow in scale and sophistication, but there are practical steps every business can take to reduce risk and build resilience. 

Be alert to phishing 

Phishing remains one of the most common ways criminals target individuals and businesses. These emails or text messages often appear to come from trusted sources and aim to trick people into clicking malicious links or revealing sensitive information. Encourage staff to pause before responding to unexpected requests, especially those that create urgency or ask for confidential details. 

Keep software up to date 

Out-of-date systems and applications are one of the easiest ways for attackers to gain access. Cyber criminals actively exploit known vulnerabilities in unpatched software. By enabling automatic updates and maintaining a regular patching schedule, organisations can close off these opportunities and significantly strengthen their defences. 

Use strong, unique passwords 

Weak or reused passwords leave accounts and systems wide open to attack. Implementing strong, unique passwords for every account, ideally supported by a password manager, makes it much harder for criminals to gain access. Adding multi-factor authentication wherever possible provides an additional safeguard, even if passwords are compromised. 

Have an incident plan 

Despite the best protections, no organisation is completely immune to cyber threats. Having a clear incident response plan in place ensures that if the worst does happen, your team knows how to act quickly and effectively. Preparation can greatly reduce the damage caused by an incident and speed up recovery. 

By staying vigilant and embedding these good habits across your organisation, you can reduce your exposure to risk and build a stronger, more resilient culture of cyber security. 

At the Cyber and Fraud Centre, we’re committed to supporting organisations across Scotland to strengthen their cyber resilience, and Cyber Security Awareness Month is the perfect time to take action. 

This year, we’re marking the campaign with: 

• A new membership offer: If you are a small or medium organisation, you can join now and receive 15 months for the price of 12, giving you three additional months of support, training, and resources at no extra cost. Membership is designed to provide organisations with ongoing access to expert advice, monthly staff training, exclusive insights through our weekly threat intel alerts and useful resources for your whole team. We are also running a membership exclusive session aimed at our new members on the 21^st October to get you kickstarted on your journey within our community.  

• An Intro to Cyber Security session on 8th October: this event will provide practical guidance on key cyber security basics, making it an ideal starting point for organisations who want to strengthen their defences. Those who attend will also receive a tailored membership proposal after the session, giving a clear picture of how the centre can support you on your cyber resilience journey going forward. 

Cyber Security Awareness Month is about taking proactive steps to stay safe online. Whether through adopting small changes in daily practice or committing to long-term support through membership, now is the time to make resilience a priority.