Security Awareness Training is a “Must Do”
With remote working becoming the norm, cybercriminals are targeting remote assets. Malbytes “Enduring from Home” stated that more than 20% of responding firms dealt with a security breach because of a remote worker. Phishing and ransomware attacks are now a standard occurrence. Criminals target both large and small firms to gain access to sensitive data. What’s the biggest threat to your company’s IT security? Your employees.
The 2021 Verizon Data Breach report found that 85% of data breaches were caused by “the human element.” One out of four employees report that they have clicked on a phishing email at work. Uninformed and untrained staff are likely to click on nefarious links, exposing your network to hackers and enabling data theft.
There are several ways to approach this growing problem. The best so far is Security Awareness Training (SAT). SAT programs use customized security awareness videos, interactive training models, and trivia games to teach employees how to recognize and most importantly, avoid, these types of emails.
Why should you add security awareness training to your IT security portfolio?
To Develop Awareness and Best Practices
Training your staff to identify cyber threats helps build security awareness and keep employees hyper-vigilant as they interact with websites, email, or social media. Many employees do not truly understand what a phishing or spear-phishing attack is or what it might look like. SAT training builds awareness and empowers your employees to a “line of defense” against phishing attacks.
To Ensure Compliance
A recent client’s cyber insurance policy was quoted at a 300% rate increase prior to adding Security Awareness Training and multi-factor authentication to their security profile. Compliance requirements are increasing across all industries
To Keep Your Team Productive
A security incident, or worse, a full breach, could shut down your network or your entire company. Employees who are educated about cybersecurity and understand that they can help deter attacks can keep your business safe and your employees working no matter their location.
Security Awareness Training, in combination with effective IT security policies, multi-factor authentication, and a strong security stack including Intrusion detection and prevention, is your best defense against cybercrime. Ask your managed services provider or IT consultant about these security tools.