October 2026 is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and this year Canada’s federal campaign is putting the focus squarely on everyday users. The 2026 theme from Get Cyber Safe is “Your best defence is you”, a reminder that small habits often do more to stop cyber incidents than any single piece of software.
Get Cyber Safe is the national awareness campaign run by the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSE), with guidance from its Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. It serves as Canada’s lead for Cyber Month, an international campaign held every October.
Why the focus on habits?
This year’s campaign acknowledges a shift in the threat landscape: artificial intelligence is making phishing emails and scams look more convincing, and it’s getting harder to tell real from fake. The good news, according to the campaign, is that many incidents can still be prevented with simple, everyday actions, such as checking suspicious messages, using strong passwords, and turning on multi-factor authentication.
A four-week plan
Get Cyber Safe has broken the month into weekly themes:
- Week 1 – Recognize cyber threats: Learn to spot phishing, fake messages and AI-powered scams, and get into the habit of pausing before you click, reply or share.
- Week 2 – Strengthen your defences: Strong passwords, password managers and MFA take centre stage as the core tools for protecting your accounts.
- Week 3 – Protect your information: Tips for banking, shopping and using government services online with confidence. This week overlaps with Small Business Week, and there are dedicated guides for small business owners.
- Week 4 – Build your cyber security community: Keep these habits going after October, talk to kids and older relatives about online threats, and report scams. For example, you can forward spam texts to 7726.
Also Read: Made in Canada, Your Data stays in Canada: Why cDox is built for Data Sovereignty
How organizations can get involved
Businesses and community groups can sign up as Cyber Month “champions.” Get Cyber Safe offers ready-made social media posts, internal communication messages and graphics, some of which can be co-branded.
Organizations are encouraged to use the hashtags #CyberMonth2026 and #GetCyberSafe and to tag @GetCyberSafe.
The bottom line
You don’t need to be a security expert to stay safe online. Turn on MFA, get a password manager, and think twice before trusting that urgent message. As the campaign puts it, the strongest line of defence is the person behind the screen.
For tips, guides and resources, visit getcybersafe.gc.ca.
Sources: October is Cyber Security Awareness Month in Canada – Get Cyber Safe
