The 2014 National Cyber Security Awareness Month is being celebrated in the US throughout October. The celebration of the Cyber Security Awareness month is part of the Stay Safe Online project which is backed by hundreds of companies, organizations and government agencies.

With millions of individuals worldwide being victimized by cybercriminals every year, the theme for the 2014 National Cyber Security Awareness Month is "STOP. THINK. CONNECT."

Since cyber security is a shared responsibility of individuals as well as businesses, the "STOP. THINK. CONNECT" theme of the 2014 National Cyber Security Awareness Month has specifically been aimed at engaging and educating both the public and private sectors.

Against the backdrop of the fact that finances, identity and privacy can be disastrously affected by breaches in cyber security, the key objective behind this year's theme is to raise awareness about cyber security, so that cyberattacks can be quickly detected and prompt action can be taken whenever there is a data breach involving a bigwig national retailer.

The 2014 National Cyber Security Awareness Month chiefly urges individuals to take some fairly simple steps to ensure their online security. Towards that end, individuals are, in general, requested to protect their personal data, keep computers and smart devices clean, connect cautiously, be web wise when browsing the Internet, and be good online citizens.