SASEBO, Japan (NNS) -- October is the annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and Sailors aboard submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) recognize the importance of cyber security, especially as the military and society rely more and more on technology.
According to the Harvard Business Review, the Department of Defense experiences more than 41 million scans, probes, and attacks per month. The amount of attacks on critical U.S. infrastructures has multiplied by 17 in the last three years alone.
"All hands are responsible for cybersecurity," said Lt. Wade Henderson, Frank Cable's Information Systems Security manager. "Whether it's managing and implementing the policies or just as a basic user of IT (information technology) systems, it is their responsibility to know what to look for and report possible suspicious activity such as phishing emails or possible virus or hacking attacks."
Everyone's number one priority while using all electronic devices should be responsible cyber awareness.
"Responsible cybersecurity would have to be always taking the time to protect and care about everything you do," said Petty Officer 1st Class Wilfredo Rivera, one of the ship's command career counselors, "as well as always knowing who is around and who is watching you, and thinking about what could happen if what you're doing got into the wrong hands."
Now more than ever, cybersecurity should be taken very seriously.
"Cybersecurity is a very serious matter," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Michelle Gonzalez, a member of the ship's Automated Data Processing Division. "If not given its needed importance, it could cause exceptionally grave damage to national security."
Frank Cable is one of two forward-deployed submarine tenders and is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to conduct maintenance and support of deployed U.S. naval force submarines and surface vessels in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
Additional information about National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, visit the Department of Defense page, www.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/0415_Cyber-Strategy.
For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.
For Navy-specific information about cybersecurity, visit www.navy.mil/local/cyberawareness.
For more information on the USS Frank Cable (AS 40), visit http://www.navy.mil/local/as40/, http://www.csp.navy.mil/frankcable/ or http://www.facebook.com/FrankCableAS40/.