Cybersecurity Training: A key employee benefit

Cybersecurity training is a key component of every business cybersecurity protection plan.  Employee awareness helps to keep your business data safe,  as well as providing knowledge that applies outside of work, as well. 

Benefits

When you create a formal cybersecurity training program, you are equipping employees with knowledge that enables “critical thinking before clicking”  on every email, text message, phone call, social media post and online video. 

Employees are bombarded by many possible attack methods: phishing, smishing, vishing and more! Some attacks are focused, as in emails that look like they were sent by a friend, while some are more broad such as email blasts that fill up a inbox and make it hard to avoid clicking a malicious link, or cause the user to accidentally delete legitimate email.

Cybersecurity training is not just to build awareness of potential threats, but also, the immediate steps to take if a click or response leads to an “attack”. These two sets of knowledge are crucial in the ongoing battle to protect business data from cyber threats.

Methods

A well-rounded cybersecurity training program offers a variety of methods for teaching best practices to stay safe from cyberattack such as:

• Gamifying training efforts – keep a running tote board for things like which employee has completed the most training or who has identified the most “fake” spam emails in their work inbox.

• Providing focused video training on different types of attack sources such as email, texts, social media posts, deep fake celebrity endorsements etc. to explain each type and how to avoid it.

• Explaining protection methods such as multi-factor authentication or virtual private networking – in simple terms, so everyone including non-technical staff members understands the details.

To reinforce the importance of your cybersecurity training plan, why not include this topic in yearly performance reviews? Discussing the topic with employees in this forum will demonstrate the company’s commitment to cybersecurity awareness at a 1:1 level.

Competitive Advantage

Offering cybersecurity training to employees is one way to stay ahead of your competition and avoid loss of company data and hard-earned reputation. While this activity may not equate to actual money saved, it does create a company culture of awareness, which encourages employees to “live what they learn” through the training.

A second means of creating an advantage over competitors might be to discuss the need for cybersecurity awareness and training, as part of your hiring process. Doing so could help job seekers understand one of the key facets of successful employment at your company. Also, it can help your hiring team to exclude potential hires who could create a risky situation later on.

Life Skills

One often overlooked aspect of cybersecurity training is that it teaches a “life skill” that is transferable to your employees’ personal lives. How many of your employees realize that this is knowledge they will continue to rely on after they leave the office for the day? Most people have at least one personal computer and mobile phone, but many have a tablet, gaming console or other devices that could allow a cyberattack. Be sure to emphasize the value of ongoing cybersecurity training as one of the many bonuses of working for your organization.

Reach out to Beringer Today!

If your cybersecurity training program isn’t as effective as it should be or if your business needs to create one, reach out to the Beringer team today!  

Beringer Technology Group, a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Business Applications, specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM for Distribution also provides expert Managed IT Services, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Based Computing, Email Security Implementation and Training, Unified Communication Solutions, and Cybersecurity Risk Assessments.