Employee training for cybersecurity: An inevitable step!
Businesses are constantly under threat from hackers and cybercriminals. Almost every industry has suffered major cyberattacks, security breaches, and data theft incidents, and the names include big brands. Addressing security concerns is critical, and it all starts within the organization. Businesses often take cybersecurity training for employees for granted.
Why worry about employees?
Probably your company has deployed firewalls, taken steps like multifactor authentication & network segmentation, and installation of antimalware software. So, why do you really need to worry about employees? Unfortunately, a considerable number of cyberattacks have been caused by insiders, often unintentionally. While there are cases where employees have caused damage deliberately for various reasons, but hackers often target insiders for activities like malware attacks and phishing.
Often, an unsuspecting employee will download and install a program, not knowing that it was a trojan file. Probably because the employee doesn’t even know what a trojan is all about, or maybe because the email seemed “authentic”. That’s exactly where cybersecurity training comes in handy.
The need for cybersecurity training
The idea is to educate and train employees on the basic aspects of cybersecurity. Every employee has access to resources within the organization, and they often handle critical systems, devices, networks, and data, regardless of how small their role may be. Cybersecurity training is necessary to help them identify the possible threats. For instance, all employees must know what it takes to spot a suspicious email, or how to practice safe browsing. Training allows them to know the threats and be proactive in their respective roles.
Also, employees need to understand their role in incident response. In case of a security breach, or possible compromise with a device, who should they inform? What steps should be taken to contain damage? These things are often addressed in cybersecurity training.
How to get it done?
Cybersecurity training may seem easy on paper, but you need experts, who can guide and create a plan for the same. Many companies are now hiring outside cybersecurity professionals to train their people. You may consider engaging the security community, who can offer a fair and updated overview of current cyber threats and how employees can do better. Having cybersecurity plans documented, and making people responsible for their roles and access rights, are equally important steps.
Final word
Don’t miss on training your people – they are on the forefront of ensuring cybersecurity at every level within the organization.
