5 Reasons to Teach Employees about Cybersecurity

For any business, safety and security are always a valuable part of employee training. As the business world becomes increasingly digital, there are more cybersecurity risks than ever before. 

More employees are working remotely and more companies are implementing new technology regularly, which means there are more people who need to understand cyber threats and potential online security risks.

It’s great if your company’s IT team understands the security protocols and how to prevent threats to the system. 

Like physical security, though, this is an area where employees need to be educated so that they can help keep the company (and themselves) safe at all times. 

As many as 61% of the cyber attacks that occurred in 2017 were aimed at small businesses, and as proven by many large corporate data breaches, security threats can happen to any organization.

You should include cybersecurity training for all new hires, and existing employees whenever you implement new security measures or identify new risks. 

Here are just a few reasons this is so important.

 

1. Downtime Can Destroy Your Business

Your business depends on its technology to be up and running at all times. Even just a few hours of downed servers from a virus could cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. 

By spending a little time and money on training for cybersecurity threats and risks, an organization can save the risk of potentially losing a lot of profits. 

Every second your business isn’t operating at maximum output, you are throwing money away.

Making employees take responsibility for their role in the company’s security is the least that you can do to keep things running smoothly.

 

2. Your Safeguards Won’t Always Work

Some companies forego training employees on cybersecurity threats or only summarize the topic because they feel like they have the right tools in place to protect the business. This isn’t always the case.

Everyone is familiar with the recent data breach at Target that exposed countless shoppers’ accounts, personal, and banking information. 

Despite having high-security measures in place, this data breach succeeded because the perpetrator could identify a weakness in the connected website of an HVAC vendor that works for the Target Corporation. 

The IT team at Target could never have known that this might present a risk, but you can guarantee that they are now much more careful about how their vendor’s store information and what types of security protocols are in place.

 

3. Remote Work: Personal Device Integration and More

85% of businesses in the U.S. are hybrid – meaning they offer both remote and in-office work. 

While remote work is improving the working world in a lot of ways, it’s also re-opening a lot of potential doors that could lead to security breaches.

From personal device use to public or unsecured WiFi networks, there are a lot of aspects of remote work that need a little security update.

Remote employees require training on protecting their remote devices, including things such as troubleshooting OS problems and tech issues. They should own the responsibility of their technology, including secure network connections. 

If you give people the tools and the training, they will be much more conscious of security in their remote work.

 

4. They’re Usually (and Unwittingly) at Fault

Over 50% of data breaches at the enterprise level happen because of negligent employees, vendors, and/or contractors. 

Rather than staying up all night worrying about this risk, you can train employees to know of potential risks and threats and to take on the responsibility of using secure measures when using technology for work. 

Most security threats or attacks that occur because of employee negligence usually happen because of a lack of training and information. 

Thus, all you have to do is invest a little time to save a lot of potential hassle.

 

5. Companies Aren’t Immune from Email and Phone Scams

Did you know that 91% of virtual attacks begin with an email? 

Even the most “secure” companies will be at risk for falling victim to some kind of phone or email scam. 

These scam artists know their way around and are good at convincing people that they have legitimate intentions.

As with consumer phishing prevention, the most common tips include:

• Never give out business information to an unidentified caller. Let employees know that if someone calls asking for this information, they need to take their contact details down and report everything to their supervisor immediately.
  Even if it’s a legitimate call, the best clients and companies won’t mind waiting for a return call.
• Never click on the links in unsolicited emails. Teach your employees to be wary of their Inbox and only use links on messages that come from a trusted sender. Even just one junk email can bring an entire system crashing down.
• When in doubt, check it out. If you invite your employees to come to you with potential security threats, you’re doing two things.
  You are telling them you have their back and will help them when they need it.
  You’re also saving the company from a lot of potential threats by having everything go through you. 

Tech-Savvy Equals Team Success

If everyone is on the same page, the team will be that much better. 

Give your employees the chance to take responsibility for the security of your organization as it relates to their role in the company. 

Teach them how to help your IT team and your company stays safe from all potential cyber threats and tech risks, and your business will be less prone to profit losses and data breaches related to your IT security.

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Author:

Heather Redding is a content manager for rent, hailing from Aurora. She loves to geek out writing about wearables, IoT and other hot tech trends. When she finds the time to detach from her keyboard, she enjoys her Kindle library and a hot coffee. Reach out to her on Twitter.