In this digital age, more people are seeing the advantages of conducting business online. With this mass entry into the digital space, there come a number of risks. This is why it is crucial to consider cybersecurity training in every workplace and ensure that it is done right. The following are some of the important roles played by cybersecurity awareness training and ways to go about implementing it effectively.
Importance of Cybersecurity Awareness Training
It is crucial for everyone on the internet to protect themselves and their resources. This involves training. Here are some reasons why it is crucial to think about it:
Lower the Number of Cyberattacks
There is an increasing number of attacks in cyberspace. This may be a result of more people working from home either on a part-time or full-time basis. With this, the risk involved with working online and storing information on cloud servers has increased tremendously. There are steps you can take to lower this risk, and you learn about them with cybersecurity awareness training.
Focus on Safety Standards
With proper training, it is possible to raise the standards of information security. As an organization strives to put security policies and controls in place for the future, it needs to work with its employees. Doing this will show them how frameworks work to yield positive results. It may motivate them to stay focused on maintaining safety standards.
Improve Productivity
When your employees know that they are backed by a safe and secure system, they are likely to have more peace of mind as they go about their daily activities. This is an easy way to improve productivity at the workplace and enable the entire team to focus on their tasks, as they have lower stress levels.
Improve Your Company’s Reputation
With proper cybersecurity awareness training, you effectively improve the reputation of your organization. This is because clients will be glad to know that you take security seriously and have put measures in place to safeguard their information and that their interactions with your business do not put them at risk.
Save Money
Finally, the monetary losses that can be suffered as a result of cyber crime are not to be taken lightly. This is because criminals generally aim to make money by either stealing and selling private and valuable information or holding it at ransom. You will, therefore, have a lower risk of suffering monetary losses if you can effectively train your employees on cybersecurity awareness.
How to Carry Out Effective Cybersecurity Training
Clearly, cybersecurity awareness should be a priority for any organization that wants to scale up and retain its integrity. With that said, there are a number of training manuals and solutions that you may have come across while searching for one that will work best for your business. If you would like to know how to go about training in order to make it the most effective and doable, read on for some tips.
Start Small
Make it manageable so that the training is effective. Rather than barrage your employees with a whole set of potential cybersecurity threats and ways in which to deal with them, you should start with one and focus on it for long enough that each employee digests it. This way, your training will likely face less resistance.
Make It Fun
Make it fun and enjoyable by using the latest software and making sure that it is interactive. When your employees have fun with the training, they are likely to put into practice what they learn and look forward to future sessions.
Create a Clear Schedule
Come up with a calendar schedule for your training events and share it with your staff. This will help them to prepare mentally for the training and make it easier for them to commit to doing it to the end. If you surprise them with a training session at short notice, they may not like it or take away anything important from it.
Provide Incentives
Consider giving incentives to those who complete training programs and do so successfully, such as badges and gift cards or swag gifts. Incentives may motivate your employers to give their best, and soon, they will become cybersecurity warriors.
Cybersecurity awareness has become an integral part of keeping a workplace secure in today’s digital age. This means that you should take it seriously and aim to do it well. When you do, you will afford your organization the chance to thrive and grow exponentially.
Mark Larson is an auditor at Linford & Co. LLP who specializes in SOC audits and helps clients establish effective control environments and strengthen security. In his previous experience, he has provided assurance and advisory services that spanned multiple industries for both public and private companies, as well as filled leadership roles within internal audit, technology, and security functions for several companies.