In some parts of the world during October, we have Halloween, which conjures the specter of imagined monsters lurking in the dark. Simultaneously, October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which evokes the specter of threats lurking behind our screens.

Bombarded with horror stories about data breaches, ransomware, and malware, everyone’s suddenly in the latest cybersecurity trends and data, and the intricacies of their organization’s incident response plan. What does all this fear and uncertainty stem from? It’s the unknowns. Who might get in? What data might they steal? How much will it cost? Are they already in?

Instead of using this month to reinforce fears around cybersecurity threats, let’s use it as an opportunity to reinforce knowledge about a strong cybersecurity strategy. Because knowledge is more powerful than fear.

With that in mind, I’ve collected some of my favorite pieces of content from people who not only know exactly who might try to steal your data, how they’re likely to get in, what they’d target, and how much it will cost, but what you can do to detect and respond to these threats faster.

How Your Organization Can Stay Secure, Even in an Ever-Evolving Threat Landscape by Chris McCurdy, General Manager and Vice President Worldwide IBM Security Services, IBM 

As cyberattacks grow more disruptive and the volume of breaches increases, businesses are struggling to stay ahead of cybersecurity threats. But as McCurdy explores in this piece, businesses may be looking at their security problem the wrong way.

Old Habits Die Hard: New Report Finds Businesses Still Introducing Security Risk into Cloud Environments by Chris Caridi, Strategic Threat Analyst, IBM X-Force

New IBM X-Force data reveals that many cloud-adopting businesses are falling behind on basic security best practices, introducing more risk to their organizations. Caridi looks at the latest 2022 X-Force Cloud Threat Landscape Report data to examine the “cracked doors” cybercriminals are using to compromise cloud environments.

A United Front Against Cyberattacks: Andritz Case Study

Less than six months to a new, comprehensive security services solution? Andritz and IBM did it together — and virtually. This case study and video delve into the details of how the partners worked together quickly to improve Adritz’s cybersecurity in the face of increasing breaches.

Smart Talks with IBM Podcast where Malcolm Gladwell chats with Stephanie Carruthers, Chief People Hacker for X-Force, IBM

Your “friendly neighborhood hacker,” as Stephanie (Snow) Carruthers refers to herself, talks about helping clients detect and close security gaps by exploiting them before someone else does. The intensity of the work can be hard to turn off, though. She rarely passes a building without imagining how to break in. Learn how she does it.

Security New Creator, Dustin (EvilMog) Heywood

Curious about “ethical hacking,” password cracking, and how creativity and security intersect? IBM’s Chief Architect of X-Force talks about all of this, plus how extreme sports helped him hone his risk management skills.

Just like we are reminded to change our smoke alarm batteries during daylight saving time, I invite you to use October every year to update your bedside stack of cybersecurity reading. Bookmark blogs. Subscribe to newsletters. Tune into podcasts like Into the Breach and Smart Talks. While you’re at it, stop by this microsite to give one of your favorite incident responders a virtual shout-out for helping to keep us secure.

I promise you that all this knowledge will help you feel a lot less afraid and a lot more prepared for whatever might come your way.