Centre County proclaims October Cybersecurity Awareness Month; county IT staff urge longer passwords, multifactor authentication

The Centre County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a proclamation declaring October 2025 as Cybersecurity Awareness Month in Centre County.

Chad, an IT specialist in the county’s Computer Services Department, told commissioners the national campaign focuses on personal accountability and “taking proactive steps to enhance your cybersecurity in your personal life as well as your workplace.” He recommended four simple actions for residents and county employees: use long, unique passwords, enable multifactor authentication, recognize and report phishing attempts, and keep software up to date. “Recommendation is a minimum of 15 characters or even use a pass phrase,” Chad said of password guidance.

Tanya, also with the Computer Services Department, added a note about operating systems, saying a majority of people still use Windows 10 and that “it’s highly recommended that you upgrade that to Windows 11 as end of life for support is today.” The commissioners took the proclamation by voice vote without recorded roll call.

Why it matters: County IT staff said most breaches stem from weak or stolen credentials and that multifactor authentication prevents many unauthorized accesses. The proclamation commits the county to share awareness materials with employees and the public during October.

Background and next steps: County staff said they will continue routine employee cybersecurity communications and encouraged residents to verify suspicious messages by calling known phone numbers rather than using contact details in unsolicited emails. The board’s formal motion to adopt the proclamation passed by voice vote; no additional policy or funding action was taken at the meeting.

Provenance: Remarks introducing and explaining the proclamation occurred during the proclamations portion of the meeting and included the IT staff presentation and the motion to adopt the proclamation.