It’s no secret that human error is currently the biggest cause of cyberattacks. That means that most attacks can be repelled by properly training and updating employees with best practices when it comes to interacting with technology.
Cyberattacks cost a lot of money. They also take up a lot of IT resources to resolve the problem and restore the systems. Considering that 9 out of 10 are a result of human error, it makes sense that an organization’s first line of defence is properly educated personnel. Think of it as a human firewall.
Of course, it’s still important to make sure your technological safeguards are in place, and that you have the right cyber liability insurance in place. But the fact is that many employees are unaware of how vulnerable they are, and how much of an impact they can have, both negative and positive.
Here are some things you can do to make sure your staff are keeping up to speed on cyber security.
Go Phishing
Are your staff able to spot phishing emails? Have they ever seen one? End users are responsible for opening 30% of all phishing emails, and as such are usually the easiest access point for scammers.
You can test employee’s ability to discern which are genuine and which are phishing emails by running phishing simulations, to identify where the weak links are.
Reward responsible cyber security behaviour
Even with the best policies in place, it may be difficult to get employees to comply. If you can measure how aware everyone is of cyber security measures, you can reward those who follow best practices. Others may be incentivized to do the same as a result.
Raise awareness
If you decide to run a phishing simulation, showing the statistical results of the test could be a good way to engage employees, and make them aware of the risk. If you get a real phishing email, make everyone aware of that as well, so they know what to look out for. Security begins with awareness.
Remember that training is an ongoing process
If you do decide to implement an employee training program, make sure it is effective in reducing user errors over time. Consider a high risk environment, like a factory or warehouse, that will employ safety training on a regular basis. Similarly, an organization’s cyber security training should be ongoing, particularly since these types of attacks are constantly evolving. Security should be part of your company’s culture, and as such, takes time, and should be repeated often.
