Cybersecurity is critical for your business continuity. We invest a lot of time and money in the latest and strongest anti-viral software and firewalls.
But when it comes to security, the biggest hole in your defence system is often your employees. Human error can account for 90% of cybersecurity breaches. From weak passwords to clicking suspicious links, poor cybersecurity hygiene makes it that much easier for cybercriminals to access your systems.
When businesses fail to prepare themselves against the potential of cyberattacks, they leave themselves open to;
- Economic and financial loss
- Reputational damage
- Legal consequences
- Loss of productivity
- Disruption to business continuity
For this reason, an effective Security Awareness Training programme (SAT) is a valuable tool for your business. Training your workforce in cybersecurity is vital for business continuity. Keeping your employees educated and informed about cybersecurity is the best way to help them avoid making errors. SAT is about teaching employees to change their behaviour, create best practices and increase awareness of cybersecurity. It empowers your employees with the knowledge and ability to use technology safely.
Here are some important points to think about when creating an SAT:
- Persistence – training should be delivered frequently with refreshers in between. Cybersecurity should always be kept top of mind.
- Relevance – your training should be aligned to the most relevant security threats, so employees know how to recognise them and what to do.
- Engagement – keep training engaging and interactive to make training more manageable.
- Emphasise Importance – use real-life examples to showcase why cybersecurity is so important and what consequences can come of not treating it with due respect.
Your company should have a strong security policy that your employees are expected to uphold. Some security policies you should have include:
- Passwords – requiring strong, complex passwords and changing them every 30 days. Passwords must be stored correctly, preferably using a password manager tool and must not be shared with anyone. For more on the importance of passwords, click here.
- Data Encryption – encrypting your data protects its confidentiality and adds another layer of security. This makes it harder for unauthorised personnel to access it.
- Administrator Privileges – these should be limited. Not everyone needs to have access to everything. The fewer people who have access to sensitive information, the less likely it is to be compromised.
- Phishing – with the high volume of emails we receive, phishing attacks are super common, training employees to recognise potential malicious links and phishing attacks is vital.
If you’re looking for a trusted IT partner to help you and your team build strong defences against cybercriminals, reach out to us today on +44 203 034 2244 or +1 323 984 8908. Alternately, you can contact us online. We will be happy to help you overcome your IT challenges.
Our friendly team will help guide you through your options and will help ensure that you get the right IT Outsourcing contract for your organisational needs. We have engineering bases in the United Kingdom, Europe and Southern California and our group of highly experienced engineers are available 24/7 to assist and ensure that your business’ IT infrastructure is running seamlessly.
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