Have you considered implementing a cybersecurity awareness training program? Did you know the average cost of a data breach in the United States is $9.4 million? A data breach in the healthcare industry costs $10.1 million. In most instances, breaches happen through email or bad passwords.
Are you conducting any type of cybersecurity awareness training at your company? Do you at least have any documentation? Most businesses don’t even think about security until a disaster strikes. With so many companies moving to a remote environment, it’s essential to keep employees protected. Even with so many workers returning to the office, security training needs to be revisited. If you haven’t yet, solicit a cybersecurity service provider today, to help implement practical cybersecurity standards at your business.
Here’s why cybersecurity awareness training is important in today’s business.
Prevention of Data Breaches and Phishing
Right off the bat, this is number one. Cybersecurity awareness training prevents data breaches and many other cyber attacks. A training program will outline and show employees what to look for to prevent a breach. How to spot a phishing attempt or how to identify a link trying to acquire personal information. 88% of data breaches are caused by human error. You’re investing in your company by providing security training on how to prevent data breaches.
Support Employees
We need to stop with this culture of blame and let’s just support our employees and arm them with the information they need. It’s your responsibility to keep your systems safe and that means supporting them with the proper training to keep them safe from threats and vulnerabilities. Educate and inform them of the risks. Show them real-world examples and explain the risks.
Treat your employees as assets and not weak links in your company. Security awareness training should assist them in their development, and once they do receive training, they always find it helpful and risks decrease exponentially.
Use Technology
Your employees might be on the front lines, but by implementing breach detection or endpoint detection technology, you’re taking a proactive approach, as opposed to waiting on the employee to report a problem. Endpoint detection software detects threats immediately so you‘re able to react and resolve the problem quicker. This should be part of your security awareness training on how to use this technology.
Culture of Security
The way employees understand security should be structured in your company’s culture. Building that culture begins with you. The essential element of the training is creating an open environment where discussions on security can take place and reporting any issues is welcome. Security isn’t about fear and your employees should be able to freely talk about security issues and report any problems, especially when they’ve made the mistake. It can happen to anyone. Learn from the mistake and move forward.
Focus on Teaching
The focus should be on teaching. Phishing simulations are about real-world examples and testing your employee’s ability to spot threats. Not tracking them and then admonishing them after. You’ll be creating a culture of fear and you’ll really be open to attacks since your employees will be too afraid to come forward.
Protect Your Company Reputation
Your company’s reputation is at stake. If your company has a reputation for data breaches and security holes, no one is going to do business with you. In the healthcare industry, data breaches could come with hefty fines and penalties for HIPAA violations. As a result, your company could go out of business. Once your reputation is tarnished, it’s difficult to repair it.
Time and Money Savings
Did you read the stat at the beginning of the blog? Do you have a spare $9 million dollars? Companies that have no enacted security training face data breaches and loss because of their laziness. Data recovery costs time and money.
Security training is going to save you time and money in the long run. Without a data backup and disaster recovery plan, it could take 7 months to resolve issues.
Let EVERNET Help with Security Training
Let the experts at EVERNET put your mind at ease with a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness training program. Our experts can help with implementing password management in real-world testing exercises. Our programs ensure your business follows processes to protect your company’s data and networks. Let’s schedule a discovery call and find out if a security training program can help get your company on track with developing security skills.
Eric is a Business IT cybersecurity advisor, consultant, manager, integrator, and protector who founded EVERNET in 2007. Eric co-hosts a podcast called “Finance and Technology Insights by Brian & Eric” on YouTube. Eric is a regular contributor to the EVERNET blog, writing about the latest technology news and providing his expertise in cyber security prevention and management.
