Do you enjoy a funny meme? Have you ever seen a picture and thought of the perfect caption?
Those are the questions we asked the participants of our New Year, New You challenge last month. We encouraged participants to submit captions for a series of meme images - a fun way to blend humor with cybersecurity awareness.
The memes were themed around our core cybersecurity behaviors to reinforce our new training, Bee Cyber Fit at Yale: The Essentials to Working Securely. The themes included Click with Caution, Know Your Risk, Protect Your Identity, and Apply Updates.
Our participants showcased their creativity and brought these important behaviors to life, reinforcing best practices in a memorable way. We received so many entertaining and hilariously on-point submissions, we put it to a vote! Enjoy the winning memes, below.
Click with Caution
It’s a tie – and that’s no sham!
Our winners remind us about the FUDGE model of common social engineering tactics and bring a bit of humor to a well-known scam.
Protect Your Identity
… starting with a strong password.
This meme reminding us not to use a common word for our passwords. Even more, it highlights why it’s so important avoid using personal details like names, favorite things, and important dates (would you guess Cookie Monster’s password might be cookie?).
Know Your Risk
Classifying and securing sensitive data is super cute.
Our meme contest wouldn’t be complete without a cat! You won’t fur-get this meme that gets us thinking about our risk levels in a cute and funny way.
Apply Updates
The number one way to protect your devices.
Our comically surprised canine – and the catchphrase “Pause”, Patch, Protect – reminds us about the importance of applying updates to ensure the safety of our devices.
Give it up for our incredible winners and participants whose comedic timing and cybersecurity smarts are truly inspiring. We hope you're basking in the glory of your meme mastery!
What’s Next?
Another exciting challenge is on the horizon – and so is spring training! Discover details and sign up for alerts about our next challenge, Hit a Cyber Homerun, in this edition’s Bee Aware section.
Get a head start by completing the Bee Cyber Fit at Yale training. The curriculum will empower you with essential knowledge to protect Yale and yourself. Made up of self-paced modules less than 15 minutes each – complete them one at a time or all at once.
If you lead a team, consider assigning the training to your staff in Workday. Encourage your teams to participate in the challenge for a fun way to build good cyber habits and the chance to win exclusive swag!