Students are returning to the classroom now that back-to-school season is officially underway. During the first few weeks, teachers will be reteaching their students the topics they learned in the previous school year to help them regain knowledge they may have forgotten during summer break. But students aren’t the only ones needing a refresher every year. Your employees must also be refreshed on company policies, values, and, most importantly, cybersecurity practices.
Did you know that human error accounts for 95% of all successful cyber-attacks? When cybercriminals plan an attack, they look for weak points within a company’s cybersecurity plan. The easiest spot for hackers to exploit is a company’s employees. New cyber threats are created consistently, and your employees must know what to do when they encounter a potential threat. If your employees are not routinely participating in cybersecurity training, your business could be at risk, regardless of size.
Every single one of your employees should be familiar with your cybersecurity practices. When hired, they should go through an initial training that lays out all your practices, and they should also participate in refresher training throughout the year to ensure that the entire team is on the same page with cybersecurity. At the very least, you should host at least one security training annually. If you’ve never put together a cybersecurity training, you may be wondering what topics you need to cover with your team. Below, you will find four of the most important issues to cover.
Responsibility For Company Data
This is your opportunity to explain why cybersecurity is crucial to your employees. They need to understand why cybercriminals are interested in your company’s data and what they could potentially do with it. Everyone on your team has a legal and regulatory obligation to protect the privacy of your company’s information. When discussing this topic with your team, they must know the ramifications of falling victim to a cybersecurity threat.
Internet Usage
Does your company restrict what websites your employees can use while at work? If not, that’s something you should look into. Every device your employees use should have secure browsing software downloaded onto it to prevent them from stumbling upon dangerous sites that could risk your company’s data. Your employees should know what sites are acceptable to use and that they should not be accessing their personal accounts while connected to your company’s network. They should never click on links that are sent from an anonymous source or are found on an unapproved website.
If your employees utilize e-mail while at work, it’s essential that they know which e-mails are safe to open. Employees should not respond to e-mails from people they aren’t familiar with, as that could be a cybercriminal attempting to gain access to your company’s data. Employees should only accept and open e-mails that they are expecting or that come from a familiar e-mail address.
Protecting Their Computers
If your employees use their personal computers, they should be doing everything in their power to keep them protected. Whenever they walk away from their computer, they should ensure it’s locked and never leave their computer in an unsecured location. Also, ensure that your employees are backing up their data routinely and have downloaded the necessary antivirus software.
It’s of the utmost importance that your team has been fully trained in your cybersecurity practices. If they haven’t, they could open your business up to all sorts of cyber-attacks that will damage your company’s reputation from a customer perspective. Your business will also no longer be compliant, and insurance companies may not cover your claims if your team is not participating in regular training.
Ensuring that your team is aware of your cybersecurity practices and actively taking steps to strengthen your cybersecurity is the best way to stay compliant and prevent cyber-attacks. You must start if your team is not regularly going through cybersecurity training. It will offer more protection to your business, which will make your customers more comfortable doing business with your company.