Why Cybersecurity Awareness Training is Essential for Any Business
February 02, 2023
It's Essential and Often Mandatory for Cyber-Liability Insurance or compliance with industry Cybersecurity Standards.
Cybersecurity awareness training is mandatory for many cyber liability insurance policies to help protect organizations from potential cyber threats. Insurance providers will often require organizations to demonstrate that they have measures in place to protect their data and customer information. This includes implementing a robust cybersecurity program that includes ongoing cybersecurity training for employees on identifying, responding to, and preventing cyber threats. By providing regular ongoing training, organizations can show their insurer that they are taking all the necessary steps to protect against cyber attacks and remain compliant with their insurance policy.
Insurance and compliance aside, ongoing cybersecurity awareness training is essential for small businesses to help protect their data and customer information from being compromised. Training helps employees understand the risks of data breaches and how to detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats. It can also educate them on best practices in protecting confidential information, digital hygiene, and recognizing Phishing attempts. Educating your employees can help ensure that your small business is safe from cyber-attacks.
You and your colleagues are your company’s most significant risk, but they also can be your greatest asset.
Employees are responsible for most cyber-attacks because they often suffer from ignorance or apathy when it comes to recognizing, detecting, and preventing cyber threats. While a lack of motivation typically causes apathy to take proactive measures most of the time because the users lack the understanding of just how devastating a cyber attack could be for their personal life and the company they work for or own period. Both of these factors can lead to poor security practices, such as weak passwords, failure to update software, and clicking on malicious links. Educating employees on the risks of cyber threats and how to protect themselves can help to minimize the chances of a successful attack.
Poor security practices, such as weak passwords, password reuse, and irresponsible sharing of confidential data over unsecured channels, can lead to data breaches. Even something seemingly innocuous as clicking on a malicious link in an email, can have serious repercussions. Educating employees on how to be more proactive regarding cybersecurity is important to help protect their organizations from potentially devastating attacks.
The Problems with Most Training
We all learn differently. While some individuals can read instructions one time and know what to do, others benefit from being taught visually or by ‘doing.’ Regardless of how you learn, having a single approach for everyone isn’t ideal. One thing we know about learning or training, especially cyber security, is that repetition is critical. That doesn’t mean taking the same course every quarter or re-reading the manual once a year. Intelligent and safe cyber practices are critical to your business’s success.
Our Approach to Training
Our approach mixes video training with integrated tools like Gamification. Gamification can be an effective way to help increase the adoption of cybersecurity awareness training. Gamification uses engaging game-like elements such as points, badges, and leaderboards to incentivize employees to complete their training. This creates a culture of friendly competition that can encourage participation and boost morale. Additionally, it helps break down complex topics into more manageable chunks that are easier to digest and retain. By making security training more enjoyable, you can foster a culture of security among your team.
This will help address not only the variety of ways that people learn but also the variety of ways you can be targeted! If you are a current client and want to ensure that you’re maximizing the tools and resources we offer, or you’re new here and interested in learning more about how you can work with our team to protect your business.
We offer ongoing and interactive training. Why? Because to stay secure, you need to keep up with cybercriminals and their ever-changing tactics. This isn’t a one-and-done approach. Cyber crimes are constantly adapting to how we live and work, so we must adapt to mitigate the risks. These nefarious characters want to catch you off guard. This means that as soon as a new device is released, a pop culture story becomes news, or a pandemic hits the world, they are ready to dupe you. That might mean they’ll come after your money and your identification or hit you with a slow burn that gets them into your business, and you don’t realize it until months later…but they are there lurking and waiting for their next score.
Hire Right
The pre-employment cybersecurity assessment tool included in our training packages can help weed out potential security risks before they damage your company. A comprehensive assessment will evaluate the applicant's cybersecurity hygiene and can detect any weaknesses in their background that could indicate poor security practices. Additionally, it can be used to assess the applicant's overall information security posture and determine if their current practices align with your company's security policy. By using a pre-employment assessment tool, your organization can have peace of mind that any new hires are equipped to properly protect your data, networks, and customers from cyber threats.
Everyday Habits
Offering a financial incentive through an annual or quarterly bonus can effectively ensure that employees take cybersecurity awareness training seriously. The financial incentive can act as a motivator and encourage employees to pay closer attention to the information presented in the training. Additionally, it can help ensure that all employees are on the same page regarding security policies, procedures, and best practices as well as it can raise employee awareness of the risks asSOCiated with poor cybersecurity hygiene and how to protect themselves from cyber threats by increasing intercompany conversations about the training
