May 11,2021      BY   Mithun Chakkaleri

The Importance of Security Awareness Training

With the increasing number of users depending on online sources, we move forward in the digital world. With this increase, there is a significant reliance on cybersecurity. Cybercriminals focus on looting from human negligence. Humans are bound to make errors, but this negligence costs millions of dollars worth of data breaches. Hackers know that people can be targeted and exploit their weaknesses. 

Several organizations focus on providing security awareness to their employees to overcome this weakness. This is to equip the employees with knowledge that will help them combat these threats and cyber attacks.  

Employees apart from the IT industry cannot be expected to know what sort of cyber threats and attacks exist. They need to be taught about anticipated dangers and traits that have a chance of being exploited. There will be a significant reduction in losses from security breaches with proper cybersecurity awareness training. 

What is Cyber Security Awareness Training?

Cybersecurity awareness training promotes the company workforce with formal cybersecurity risks, threats, and potential weak spots. It is a strategy used by IT and security professionals to reduce and mitigate risks. It provides information about a variety of information security threats and company policies for addressing them. 

Why is Security Awareness Training Important?

A well-trained staff is essential for cybersecurity to pose less risk to the organization’s overall security. Fewer risks mean fewer financial losses due to cybercrime. Therefore, a company puts in the effort to educate its workforce to avoid unnecessary threats and risks. Some reasons why security awareness is crucial in an organization are listed below:

  • Prevent breaches and attacks

  • Build a culture of security 

  • Make technological defenses more robust

  • Give your customers and clients confidence

  • Be socially responsible as a business 

  • Improve employee wellbeing

What topics are covered in Security Awareness Training?

Topics covered in security awareness training expand from the digital world to the physical world. Some of the must-have issues include:

  • Phishing: Teaching the employees how to recognize and deal with potential phishing emails. Most malware enters through clicking and downloading phishing emails. 

  • Password security: Instructing to use strong passwords. Avoid using menial words like “password” for your password. Do not write up your username and password on a post-it note, and stick it on your monitor. Have a strong password with a minimum of 8 characters, lower and upper cases, numbers, and special characters.  

  • Ransomware: It is malicious software that encrypts the data on a computer and demands a payment made as ransom to the hacker. If not paid, the malicious hacker will erase all the data. The best way to defend against it is to prevent it from happening.  

  • Information security: Sharing sensitive information with a third party should be taken very seriously. Employees must know digital data must be protected and is accessed with privilege.  

  • Removable media: Removable media like a USB, hard disk, and eternal drives can be a significant risk for the organisation. It can impact information security and sensitive data breaches.   

  • Social engineering: Social engineering involves social interactions and manipulates the end-user to defective actions. Employees need to be trained to deny giving sensitive information to unauthorised people. These scams take advantage of human behaviour in the forms of emails, SMS, voicemails, or social media.   

  • Physical security: This means protecting physical access to secured areas. Employees need to understand their limitations and avoid tailgating to areas that require privileged access.  

  • Browser security: Employees need to be aware of suspicious websites and how it risks the company’s network. They should understand the importance of keeping the browsers up-to-the-date and secured.

  • Incident response: Everyone in the company must know what suspicious activity to look for and report it. They must be aware of their role in the response effort.  

  • Mobile security: With mobile devices connected to our daily routine, the employee must pay attention to the risks it causes. They must be aware of the risks it introduces and the need to keep passcodes to protect against unauthorised access.   

  • WiFi security: All WiFi networks are not safe. It is dangerous ground for hackers to infiltrate our systems. Adequate training is required for the employees to defend against these threats when working remotely.   

  • Data Privacy: how to handle personal information and sensitive data is the priority of cybersecurity. Everyone must understand the basic ethics and responsibilities behind data privacy. They must be familiarised with the organisation’s regulations on protective data. 

What are some Security Awareness Training Best Practices? 

Establishing practical security awareness training focuses on engaging the workforce in reducing user risk. It must be persistent and delivered in regular intervals fitting their busy schedules. The message to be conveyed must reach the intended audience through positive reinforcement to improve performance. Some essential practices that are practiced in security awareness training are stated below.

  • Company-wide Practice

The most successful awareness training happens when everyone in the company is involved. It needs top to down participation. This practice creates an organization-wide security culture and becomes a daily pursuit at all levels. When certain levels or groups of the company are excluded, it is challenging to encourage a mindset that makes everyone feel equally invested in improving cybersecurity. 

  • Clear Communications

Clear communication is a critical practice that is especially important in middle-level and upper-level management. They must know the vision and target of the company. You can effectively transfer it to the lower-level management. By this, they can receive adequate cybersecurity training critical in their program. 

  • Establishing Baseline Vulnerabilities Measurement 

It is crucial to establish baseline assessment scores. This way, the employees’ progress can be measured from where they began to where they have reached. Relating to cybersecurity knowledge, you should see a reduction in employee-driven cybersecurity incidents over time. Metrics used can be rates of malware infection, baits to phishing emails, etc. 

  • Regular Training Engagement

To inculcate cybersecurity knowledge and reduce risks involves regular training. Occasional phishing tests will not be enough to reduce the success rate of cyberattacks. The workers must be given adequate training at regular intervals, giving them the opportunity to learn over time to develop their skills.

  • Reinforcing Reviews

Reinforcement reviews about cybersecurity to the employees will keep them regularly updated. Cybersecurity is a regular activity, and it should include occasional tests and checks on the progress throughout the practice. 

Conclusion 

With the number of practices existing, cybersecurity training is efficient to teach the knowledge needed to avoid unwanted threats and attacks. Threats and technology are constantly changing. Hence the procedure needs to be reinforced at multiple intervals. These days security is everyone’s need and priority. Minor incidents, too, can have a significant impact on the virtual world. Security training helps everyone in an organization to understand the consequences of their actions and reduce mistakes.

Mithun Chakkaleri

He is an expert training manager with Time Training Center Abu Dhabi. He has spent more than 12 years implementing training programs. He has worked across many departments and stakeholders to ensure that all the training programs meet organizational needs. Being passionate about interior design, he keeps himself regular at the gym and spends free time reading.

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