Contrary to the belief of some, cyber attacks are targeted not just at large enterprises and government institutions. The reality is that cyber security threats exist everywhere; at both an organisational and individual level. To help instil a cyber security mindset among employees and minimise the risk of breaches, organisations must implement cyber security training.
What is Cyber Security Training?
Cyber security training for employees pertains to a programme that aims to increase employees’ awareness of cyber security issues. By properly training employees on cyber hygiene best practices, an organisation’s security efforts are strengthened. This helps reduce cyber security vulnerabilities that are common at the individual level, such as being unable to recognise phishing emails or having insecure passwords.
Why is Cyber Security Training Important?
Cyber security awareness training is important because it helps protect an organisation from attacks and breaches. Regardless of size, organisations can find themselves susceptible to a cyber attack.
Gov.uk reported that 4 out of 10 businesses experienced cyber security attacks or breaches in 2021. These attacks can inflict substantial financial damage to both small and large businesses.
From these attacks, it was observed that the common threat vector was phishing, where the human element plays a significant factor. It’s then essential for organisations to find ways in preventing attackers from exploiting the human factor. One way to do so is through cyber security training.
Benefits of Cyber Security Awareness Training
1. Minimise the risks of threats
Training employees helps reduce human errors that can result in a security breach or attack. It builds their guard up and improves their cyber hygiene, which enhances the organisation’s overall security defence.
2. Prevents Downtime
Cyber attacks can cause significant downtime in business operations. It can take days, weeks and even months for a business to recover from, say, a ransomware attack. With proper training of employees, organisations can prevent attacks and the subsequent downtime that they cause.
3. Maintains consumer trust
Employee training fortifies how an organisation protects their user data. By ensuring that user data is protected and by minimising the risk of security breaches, organisations can expect to build and retain their customers’ trust.
4. Reduce Loss of Revenue
Data breaches can cost an organisation millions per breach. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach in the UK is around £3.44 million. Implementing awareness training provides an additional layer of defence to organisations, helping them avoid breaches.
What Makes a Good Cyber Security Awareness Programme
A cyber security training programme should include the following:
1. Engaging Content
Modules with relevant and engaging content are easier for employees to absorb. It’s also essential for modules to have information that’s easy to understand and remember, so employees can readily apply them in real life.
2. Customisable Design
A security awareness training programme should, of course, be created around employees’ risk profile and level of knowledge on essential security issues.
3. Progress Monitoring
Monitoring employees’ progress levels gives organisations an idea of the programme’s effectiveness. It enables an organisation to tweak the programme accordingly.
4. Training Reinforcement
Awareness training is most effective when it’s done continuously. Refreshers should be provided after a given period to keep employees up-to-date with the latest cyber security best practices.
How to Train Employees on Cyber Security
Here are some best practices for training employees:
- Help employees understand the importance of cyber security and the roles and responsibilities they have in preventing attacks or breaches.
- Communicate the importance of having secure passwords.
- Implement drills and simulations (i.e. Phishing simulations).
- Educate your employees on the various types of threats. Train them to recognise suspicious activities, including social engineering.
- Enrol your employees onto cyber security training courses.
Providing security awareness training for employees helps create a strong cyber security culture within an organisation. Thus, empowering employees to implement cyber security best practices should be at the forefront of organisations’ strategies. We can help create an effective cyber security training programme for your organisation. To learn more, or to book your free demo, get in contact with a Mitigate Cyber expert!
