BATON ROUGE - As Cybersecurity Awareness Month comes to an end, Louisiana State Police hosted a summit in partnership with cybersecurity firm Evalv IQ.

Theresa Jones runs Evalv IQ and was a key player in Monday's event. No matter who you are, Jones said cyberattacks are a very real threat to your personal information and the best defense is being informed. 

"There's so many active threats and we need to make sure everybody is knowledgeable and educated on the threats," Jones said. 

Some of those in attendance included I.T. personnel from Entergy, local school systems and small business owners. The summit featured a presentation from keynote speaker, Alvin-O Williams, a panel discussion from the La. Cyber Commission and more. 

"There's all kinds of things happening but the catch is, we need to educate the community," Jones said.

With technology becoming more engrained in our everyday lives, Jones emphasized how those devices can be used by hackers for nefarious purposes. Changing your Wi-Fi password and installing a fire wall on your home internet are just a handful of recommendations she has.

"Cyber security is not going anywhere. You need to start securing your home. We have all these devices. We have cameras, we have touch screen refrigerators and we don't realize how much of a risk we keep putting ourselves at without proper cybersecurity in place." 

Local and state entities have endured a challenging year for cyber security. In June, a data breach at the Louisiana Office of Motor vehicles compromised the personal information of nearly every Louisiana resident.