Protect employee data and prevent breaches with these tips
Did you know human error is the leading cause of data breaches?
Here’s the catch, though: in most cybersecurity plans, employee cyber awareness training isn’t even a line item on the budget.
So why aren’t businesses investing in solutions to strengthen their front line of defense? In most cases, it comes down to a lack of understanding and a lack of empowerment within security teams.
Fortunately, a superior employee cybersecurity training program is within your reach, and the first step is knowing what training to invest in and why. Here are some major categories to organize your plans:
Physical Security
Being aware of your surroundings and the people you work with is step one to staying safe online.
1. Don’t forget your keys!
All employee training starts with the basics. When you onboard a new employee, they might receive a set of keys or a fob to enter the building. Train your employees to keep their professional equipment safe, and emphasize the potential impact of physical security as part of the company’s cyber posture.
2. Don’t let anyone else in the building!
It’s extremely easy for a threat actor to dress up like a courier or maintenance person and tag along as your employee opens the door to the office. Emphasize to your staff not to allow anyone (and that means anyone!) into the building, even if they say, “Oh, I forgot the code!” Once a threat actor is inside an office, it’s easy for them to steal data and infiltrate the network.
Phishing and Social Engineering
These attacks trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or granting access to secure systems.
3. Be aware of phishing emails and vishing calls
As AI technology spreads, phishing emails are getting harder and harder to spot. Find or build training to empower your employees to read their emails carefully, and encourage them to report anything they aren’t sure about. Remind them to think twice before clicking a link or opening an attachment, and never punish caution!
Fraudsters are also leveraging social engineering and technology to conduct extremely realistic “voice phishing,” or vishing, scams. A threat actor may pretend to be a bank or HR representative and ask the employee to disclose sensitive data. To combat this, remind your employees they can always just hang up and call the number on the back of their bank card directly if they aren’t sure.
4. Avoid social media scams
Sadly, social media is full of fake accounts, stolen accounts, and bots pretending to be humans. Train your employees on how to check how active a profile has been, and educate them about common social media scam types, like romance scams or the brutally-named “pig butchering” financial fraud.
5. Invoices and check scams
Another extremely common (and dangerous) type of fraud involves fake invoices and demands for payment. Often, threat actors will use social engineering tactics to trick well-meaning employees into sending money or checks to nonexistent companies. Remind your employees they can, and should, always double-check with the billing department to ensure invoices are legitimate.
Digital Hygiene
Knowing the “right” thing to do can be a challenge, but there are little things your employees can do to make a big impact on a company’s cybersecurity posture.
6. Logging out
Instead of just closing a laptop at the end of the workday, train your employees to log out of programs and browsers they use during the day. It’s a simple, clean way to prevent stored data from being stolen easily—and it might help cut down on power consumption, too!
7. Best practices
When it comes to today’s standards for strong passwords, safe browser usage, and good digital hygiene, consider condensing your tips into a handy document that employees can refer to easily. Passwords considered “safe” ten years ago aren’t so secure today!
Backups and Disaster Recovery
8. Backing up sensitive data
One of the many ways employees get digitally compromised is by losing files and data. Educating employees on your company’s information classification system is step one, and getting them to back up sensitive files in multiple places is step two!
9. Everyone knows the BCP plan
If disaster strikes, you need a backup and disaster recovery plan, or at least a business continuity plan. So make one, then practice it with all the employees who will be affected or involved.
Cybersecurity training can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to happen all at once. In fact, with regulations constantly evolving, engaging in quarterly or monthly training sessions is a much more sustainable cadence.
When you invest in your staff, they become your first line of cyber defense.
Get started now with a call to Stratti: (888) 455-3939
