Welcome back, fellow cyber junkies.

In August, the term cybersecurity fell to the #9 spot from #7 – a spot it had held since May. While as a composite topic, stories were down 17%, volume was still up 81% YoY (from August 2020). Moreover, it appears cybersecurity garnered more attention this year overall, compared to previous years. In 2020, the average amount of stories per month was 102,018. To date, the monthly story average is 147,426.

Cybersecurity is still dominating the news cycle, especially as the Biden Administration continues to press ahead with new initiatives to strengthen cyber-resilience. President Biden met with leaders from Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and others this month to discuss the ongoing threat posed by ransomware. Additionally, other governments, including the EU, are moving quickly on new regulations of their own — like DORA which is being positioned as complimentary to GDPR.

Taking a step back, it’s important to note that while composite coverage fell overall this month, PR pros should not miss a beat.

My advice these past few months was to talk to your SMEs, gather their views on these sundry topics and stay current on all the hot topics surrounding cybersecurity. Given the current lull in stories, now is an excellent time to strategically engage with reporters. Reach out to see what they’re writing and what they need. This doesn’t mean bombarding every cyber reporter with a pitch; if you’re staying current, you know who to reach out to, so use this time to introduce your SME as a helpful resource.