“Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world”, said Ginni Rometty, President & CEO of IBM, and this couldn’t be far from true. Security magazine reports that in 2018 alone 45 billion dollars were lost to cyber-attacks worldwide.
In response to such a dire situation business shell out big bucks to bolster their cyber security. Putting in places elaborate and expensive cyber security apparatuses like proxy servers and firewalls. Day after day the reliance of business on the internet is increasing, so is the ever-expanding IoT. Such advancements lead to increased productivity but such a large connected ecosystem also puts businesses in a compromising position when it comes to being vulnerable to exploits. Irrespective of the million dollars spent on cyber security infrastructure, companies fail to realize the factor of a mistake made by the human user which not only initiates but amplifies cyber crime. With the IT teams bearing the major burden of this responsibility, the margin for human error is even greater. This makes the need for cyber security training of the staff imperative making them an asset against cyber crime and not a liability.
On being put to the test employees fail at even the fundamentals of cyber security procedure. This not only shows a lack of cyber security awareness but forecasts a future cyber threat businesses’ could be facing. It is crucial for businesses’ to identify these weak links and work towards tying all loose ends. A cyber security training program not only leads to a greater cyber security workplace but fosters a risk-aware workplace culture. This in turn leads to greater security of business interests and assets. Experts have noted that a data breach is more likely to come from human negligence than from an externally coordinated cyber attack, making your employee complicit. Cyber security training works to reduce chances of such negligence.
What does Cyber Security Training do for the workforce?
An Equipped and Aware Workforce is directly an outcome of a cyber security training. Enforcing policies and incorporating cyber protocols such as stronger passwords, two-factor authentication, usage of only approved softwares, data recovery strategies like secure cloud backups, flagging suspicious emails, phishing scam awareness, patching software exploits, social engineering practices and positive internet etiquette. These are some of the skills that arm your workforce against any foreseeable breach, simultaneously keeping data confidentiality airtight.
The knowledge and resources gathered as an outcome of cyber security training aids an employee to respond quickly to a cyberattack and have a plan in place. Over 77% of organizations do not have a cyber security incident response plan, even though an estimated 54% of them have reported a cyber attack in the past year. These numbers echo the crucial need for businesses to undertake cyber security training and take preventive measures.
What does Cyber Security Training do for a business?
As a consequence of avoidance, cyber security training leads to saved time, money and reputation for the businesses. By avoiding a cyber-attack, a business dodges loss of revenue, loss of trust among investors, partners and customers, as well as steering clear of the litigation that comes as a result of the breach of client data and intellectual property. A cyber security trained staff empowers the workforce to avoid a cyber attack, not only saving finances from potential cyber fraud but also avoiding the loss of profit faced as a result of system downtime caused by an attack. Evading a cyber attack helps retain customer trust and secure investor support, an overall win for the business.
Not checking your work email on an open network goes a long way in securing your business interest. Such heightened cyber awareness is directly a result of cyber security training. There is a hacker attack every 39 seconds, and since the COVID-19 Pandemic, FBI has reported a 300% increase in reported cybercrimes. This makes the need for Cyber Security Training even more essential.