Everyone is familiar with the three pillars of cybersecurity: People, Process and Technology. However, most companies typically invest in just one area – technology and fail to recognize that the most significant security risk remains the human factor.
Security Awareness Training is the best way to begin protecting your organization from the ever-changing threat landscape. By providing your staff with the knowledge required to recognize and react to cyber threats, you are creating a shift in employee mindset and implementing behavioural change, which will lead to reduced human error and an improved cybersecurity posture.
1. Empower your employees to become your first layer of cybersecurity
In a Webroot 2019 study, it was found that 67% of employees received at least one phishing email at work; and 49% of employees admitted they clicked links in messages from unknown senders during work. As the online world is getting more and more interconnected, cyberattacks have also become more sophisticated. This includes, but is not limited to phishing, spear-phishing attacks, business email compromise, social engineering scams, common malware and ransomware and fake websites to steal data or infect devices.
By providing interactive and ongoing training programs to your employees, they will have the knowledge to spot phishing emails and avoid risks online, and eventually will become your first layer of protection to reduce the number of security incidents.
2. Meet regulatory compliance requirements
Many businesses have specific compliance requirements. For example, if your business takes credit card payments from customers, you must follow PCI compliance. Or if your company stores or processes personal information about EU citizens, you must comply with the GDPR.
Corporate compliance covers both industry policies and procedures as well as federal, provincial and local compliance laws. Regulatory compliance is when a company abides by those laws and regulations. If a company is found to be out of compliance with certain laws pertaining to their industry, this can result in fines and/or legal punishment. For many industries, such as financial, healthcare, education, government, and retail, Cyber Security Training is a common growing need as technology plays a larger role in information and data handling. This training is designed to protect users and corporations from outside digital attack through better end-user practices.
3. Receive High Return on Investment
Organizations that focus primarily on investing in cybersecurity technologies and tools, without providing employee training and establishing clearly defined processes and procedures, will realize at some point that there‘s only so much security software can do.
In the Ponemon Institute 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report (commissioned by IBM Security), employee security training is one of top factors that reduced the average total cost of a data breach by CAD $335,607. The 2019 Webroot Threat Report also found that after 12 months of ongoing phishing simulations and security awareness training courses, end users are 70% less likely to click through on a phishing message. The reduced number of user errors will translate directly to lower support costs, reduced downtime, less time spent in remediating, and improved productivity.
Security is not just concern for IT, it is everyone's responsibility. Empowering your employees with trainings on phising, malware, social engineering, regulatory compliance, password, and cybersecurity best practices will strengthen the overall resilience of your business. Contact us to set up a demo for Blair's Security Awarness Program.
