Improve Cybersecurity Through Training

Cyber security threats are becoming so rampant that no business’s data is safe anymore. Companies of all sizes can no longer afford to overlook the significance of training their staff about how to recognize cyber threats and best practices when dealing with one. Your employees must be equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to fight back against malicious attackers, highly skilled criminals, and other cyber threats to keep your enterprise’s private data and valuable information safe and secure. If you have little to no experience with cyber security training, it might be time to ask for assistance. A managed IT support company, like Contigo Technology, can offer various training options for your employees to help protect your business against devastating breaches, lost data, and more. Read on as we discuss the importance of cyber security training for every organization and what topics should be covered.

The Human Factor

Studies have shown that most of today’s digital attacks are attempts to exploit the human factor through creative phishing techniques that lure people into clicking on infected links, providing sensitive information, and more. Nearly 90 percent of data breaches can be attributed to human error, which only reinforces the need for employee training regarding cyber security. Highly skilled hackers and malicious attackers aim to trick users into giving them early access to a digital resource long before they actually complete the job (i.e. hack the entire system). Humans, therefore, can be an organization’s weakest link in term of security, making them easy targets for hackers.

Tools and techniques like social engineering, spear phishing, malware, and ransomware are typical approaches taken by attackers to gain access into an enterprise’s system. While many companies do employ items like firewalls, encryption, and more to defend their sensitive data, employees can still unknowingly invite a cyber-attack into your company’s system. Cyber security training works to fill this gap in an organization’s cyber defense strategy, regardless of whether you choose to train your staff yourself or use a third-party managed IT support company to do so.

Cyber Security Training Topics

Below are some key topics relating to cyber security that you should train your employees about.

• Different Types of Cyber Threats: To effectively identify and prevent any unwanted security breaches, employees need to have some kind of basic knowledge about the ways a threat can present itself. For example, educating your employees about phishing tactics can help them to recognize suspicious emails more readily.
• The Importance of Password Security: It is important that you really drive home the fact that passwords are an organization’s first line of defense for protecting valuable and/or private data from hackers. In addition to discussing the importance of password security, you should also show your employees how to create a strong password. Strong passwords usually include a combination of letters, symbols, and numbers.
• How to Recognize and Report Potential Threats: Employees are the eyes and ears of a business. Any device they use or emails they receive could contain clues about a lurking virus, malware, phishing scam, or password hack. Just as it is crucial to educate your employees about recognizing potential threats, it is equally important to let them know how they should go about reporting any red flags. If an employee notices abnormal activity or a suspicious email but fails to notify the right person about the details of the attempted attack due to a lack of training, a business’s line of defense can still become compromised.
• Internet, Email, and Social Media Policies: An employee’s browsing and email habits can have a great effect on the security of your organization. It is crucial to make your staff fully aware of your company’s guidelines and policies regarding how they should be using social media, their email, and the internet at work to limit exposure to cyber-attacks.

Best Practices for Cyber Security Training

The main purpose of cyber security training is to create a sense of shared accountability and responsibility among your employees to protect your company against attacks that are attributable to the human factor. This training is not an event that should be performed on rare occasions or “as needed”; updating and repeating your training sessions regularly is key in keeping your staff up to date on the latest information regarding cyber-attack tactics and other important security items. This helps to keep your staff thoroughly educated about the ever-evolving cyber threats out there. In addition, online cyber security training should be made a mandatory task whenever you onboard a new employee.

If you are not sure where to start when it comes to properly training your staff about cyber security, let us help. Here at Contigo, we offer everything from training videos to test emails that give you insight about how your employees would respond to a real phishing attempt. As a managed IT support company that has been featured in Inc. Magazine’s Annual List of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies, it is clear that we have dealt with a growing number of clients over the years, so we are well equipped to train and educate your employees on best practices for cyber security. Let us train your employees to strengthen both your defense against cyber threats and your confidence about your organization’s overall security. Contact us today to get started.