Your cyber security awareness training problems solved

Savanti the problem solver!

As Richard Branson once said “A company’s employees are its greatest asset”

Problem

Human error is the biggest threat to cyber security and it can come from any corner of your organisation. Expecting your employees to have an ingrained knowledge of, and the ability to keep up with, the rapidly shifting threat landscape is not only unfair but also unrealistic.

Employees

Providing cyber security awareness training ensures that your team are aware and understand security threats that they and the organisation are exposed to – from data breaches to ransomware.

An essential part of the overall training programme is helping establish a security culture within the organisation, making sure that security is a key responsibility for every employee. A good security culture ensures that the right practices are not just learned but are also understood and implemented effectively by all employees.

Training

Implementing a robust and effective training programme is critical to preventing the loss of sensitive data, avoiding business disruption and the costs associated with a cyber security breach. The training programme should consider the following areas:

• Ensure that the training has an impact, keeping it short sharp and engaging. Introduce new training materials frequently.
  
• Training is a continuous process. Keep security at the top of everyone’s mind through a regular cadence of communication about current security topics and trends.
• Point out and sell the benefits of the training to employees including how it helps improve and secure their personal online life.
  
• Keep training realistic, timely and relevant. When cyber security attacks and breaches are in the news, adapt and build training and communications around these incidents.
• Tailor the training according to the intended audience. Identify high-risk individuals or areas of the organisation that need a more tailored and targeted approach.
• Teaching employees to recognise phishing emails and social engineering attacks is fundamental to any security awareness training programme.

Reporting and follow up

Having a process to measure the effectiveness of the training and awareness programme is essential. However, many organisations struggle to get the reporting element right and are inconsistent in how they follow up on or action what the report data is telling them.

Reports from phishing exercises are a good way to see if your training is working, but it is important to respond to any problem areas identified. This can be achieved by providing employee feedback and developing approaches that include positive reinforcement.

Benefits

Implementing cyber security awareness training and improving the security culture within an organisation brings several benefits including:

• Training employees provides them with the knowledge to keep the organisation secure against cyber threats and possible data breaches reducing risk exposure.
  
• Improving the organisation's reputation and brand, giving confidence to customers and business partners. Considering the average cost of a data breach, growing the organisations brand and reputation can help offset the cost of security training.
  
• Helping the organisation to demonstrate regulatory compliance.
  
• Empowering employees with the knowledge of security threats and risks means they will act with confidence and awareness of the risks and be less likely to make the kind of human error that could cause a devastating breach.