Cybersecurity Awareness Training is Essential for Your Organization’s Success!

If you think your email inbox is a safe space for communication and collaboration, think again. Email spam and other threats are being sent to users everywhere at record-high rates; in particular, phishing scams. 

If you have an email address, you’ve most likely encountered a phishing attack. Phishing is an attempt to steal private information like passwords, banking logins and card numbers from an individual through email or chat. These scams are some of the most common and successful ways to steal your private credentials, release malware, and spread viruses. 

Why are phishing tactics so successful? They work because it combines the imitation of real senders and social engineering techniques. Phishing scams take advantage of the recipient’s trust and lack of awareness to push them to act impulsively. 

It is critical that organizations combat these attempts by adequately training users on techniques that cybercriminals use. Unfortunately, many businesses don’t know where to begin when developing a program or knowing what areas to focus on.

A well-rounded training program from a security company such as Barracuda Networks is an essential step in mitigating risk. This training is designed to help employees understand that their actions can lead to security breaches. Users will learn optimal “cyber hygiene” and best business practices. 

WHAT DOES CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS TRAINING INCLUDE?

To bring your employees up to date on the basics of security awareness, here are a few topics that should be covered:

• Phishing and social engineering
• Device security 
• Insider threats
• Removable media
• Account takeover

Simulated phishing campaigns will test users and increase their ability to identify cyber-attacks that may occur via phishing emails and on the web. 

A key factor in a successful phishing campaign includes social engineering. This is a tactic used by many scammers; it encompasses a wide range of malicious activities performed through human interactions.  Attackers may spend time researching an individual or company in order to launch a targeted and personalized attack. By appearing as a trustworthy source, they can manipulate a victim into giving them sensitive information or company resources. Employees need to learn to develop a critical eye for red flags in seemingly normal communication.  

It’s crucial that these attacks are reported quickly. In most cases, if one employee is being targeted, it’s likely many others are, as well. This practice can help prevent a phishing scam from entering the network and spreading company wide. 

Employees are also bringing more personal devices into the workplace than ever before. By allowing non-business-related devices to connect to your organization's network, the risk of a cybersecurity breach is highly elevated, and can happen without anyone even noticing – until it’s too late. 

Cybersecurity awareness training will equip your employees with the tools to securely access the resources on their personal device. This includes expectations for websites that are acceptable to access, applications that are permittable to be installed and run, and how to handle opening attachments safely.

The Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) defines insider threats as, “...the threat that an insider will use his or her authorized access, wittingly or unwittingly, to do harm to the department's mission, resources, personnel, facilities, equipment and networks.” With 3 0% of all breaches falling under this category, this is a topic that business leaders need to be aware of. Minimize the risk to your organization by implementing cybersecurity awareness training along with proper policies, such as Principle of Least Privilege.

Cybersecurity awareness training is a key piece to any organization’s security plan. With the growing use of user imitation and social engineering, technical security measures alone are no longer sufficient. Don't let your employees be the weak link in your cybersecurity defense! 

If you would like to learn more about cybersecurity awareness training, reach out to us today. We offer a range of security solutions and have trusted experts who can help with your security concerns. Give us a call at 616-235-6860, or contact us today! 

Did you enjoy learning about how cybersecurity awareness training can help protect your organization? If so, check out our blog for more from the world of technology and security! 

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Sources: 

2022 data breach investigations report. Verizon Business. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2023, from https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/ 

Defining insider threats. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2023, from https://www.cisa.gov/defining-insider-threats#:~:text=The%20Cyber%20and%20Infrastructure%20Security,equipment%2C%20networks%2C%20or%20systems. 

Phishing awareness training: Help your employees avoid the hook. WeLiveSecurity. (2022, June 23). Retrieved February 9, 2023, from https://www.welivesecurity.com/2022/06/21/phishing-awareness-training-help-employees-avoid-hook/ 

Securing your business: The basics of employee cybersecurity training. channelprogram.connectwise.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2023, from https://channelprogram.connectwise.com/auto2/buon13pquejiy/6chk89f15mp7 

Verizon. (2022, September 22). What are insider threats? definition, types and mitigation. Verizon Enterprise. Retrieved February 10, 2023, from https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/articles/s/the-risk-of-insider-threat-actors/

Webinar: Security awareness training best practices and benefits. Journey Notes. (2023, January 6). Retrieved February 13, 2023, from https://blog.barracuda.com/2023/01/06/security-awareness-training-best-practices-benefits/