It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, you always need to make sure your cybersecurity is top-notch and on par with modern standards. And even if you take all the necessary steps and do your best to make everything secure, no one can guarantee that safety. Why? Because of the biggest security flaw there is: the human factor.
People are always the biggest threat to your business security, no matter the size of your company. Improper security training, abstract approach toward security issues, and various other reasons lead to the point where your employees simply don’t understand in which ways they jeopardize your business’ security. This is a problem for all types of businesses, but luckily, there are some things you can do to help educate your workers and coworkers and increase the overall safety of your business. We did a bit of researching and we’ve come up with this short guide to help put you on the right path when it comes to raising your employees’ safety awareness. So, without further ado, let’s dive straight into it.
Continuous Training
When it comes to cybersecurity, you cannot simply have a guy from your IT department talk to other employees about it and hope for the best. It requires some time and effort to make the message stick, but also to make sure that your workforce understands the biggest security problems they can encounter. Business security and cybersecurity courses are great, but people tend to forget what they’ve learned if they don’t have a way or a reason to use that knowledge.
Quite a lot of business experts have stated that the best results come from a continuous training which takes place throughout the year. You need to train your employees according to their working positions and security risks that may concern their specific job. For example – your IT department needs to be prepared for a technical attack, while your HR has to know how to avoid phishing emails and malware attacks. Following some simple rules like not using your professional equipment anywhere except in the office can significantly increase your cybersecurity. Make sure your employees are always prepared for a security breach and that they are up to date with potential cybersecurity risks, so they can act accordingly and minimize the potential damage to your company.
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Perform Training Exercises
Training your employees is extremely important, but in order to make sure they’ve really understood those training classes, you must put them to a test. In order to fully understand all the potential security breaches your company is facing, you need to perform a number of “live fire” exercises. This means that you will have to find a way to simulate a cybersecurity attack so that you can see the response.
While writing this article, we’ve consulted with one of the leading IT companies in Sydney and they’ve emphasized the importance of these training-tests. You can have your IT department organize a simulated attack, or you can outsource these services from some outside vendor, but these tests should give you the clear picture of the state of security in your company. These tests will also help your employees gain a better understanding of what the company is going through in such situations, and what kind of implications such events leave. There is no better way to see how secure your company really is.
Evaluation, Communication, and Reward
As with any other business aspect, when it comes to the cybersecurity, you need a lot of planning and evaluating. You will need to do regular check-ups and you will have to do periodic evaluations of both your employees and your security systems and strategies. Make sure you’ve tested them thoroughly before any implementation. Find the best possible way to connect with your employees when it comes to cybersecurity. Communication is extremely important when it comes to making sure that everyone is on the same page. If you can’t find a way to describe a problem or a security issue to your employees – you can’t expect them to understand how to prevent or avoid it.
Another great practice that has shown some interesting results is definitely rewarding your employees. When users find malicious emails, phishing attempts and similar security risks, reward them in a way. Take into consideration that some of your employees go through thousands of emails a day, so when they manage to find something suspicious and report it, a reward of some sort can be a great incentive to keep them on alert.
Wrapping It Up
These are just some of the ways you can ensure your employees are on the same page as you when it comes to the cybersecurity, but you should keep in mind that no matter what, education is just one of the cybersecurity aspects. There is always a percentage of cyberattacks that will get through, so make sure that your employees are always on a lookout, and your security plan and your tools are always updated.
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