Cyber Awareness Training Importance, Benefits, and Strategies

An average organization gets hit by approximately 700 socially engineered attacks (such as phishing attacks) every year.

Instead of trying to bypass firewalls and breach security systems, hackers have discovered that it’s easier to target employees. In fact, up to 90% of ALL cyber attacks today are said to have a human component to them.

Given the evolving risks of cyber attacks and how cybercriminals have shifted their primary attack vectors against businesses, it’s essential for businesses to weigh the benefits that cyber awareness training can have on their operations. Given these facts, our blog today will cover:

• What is Cyber Awareness Training
• The Benefits of Security Awareness Training for Businesses
• The Importance of Security Awareness Training with iTBlueprint Solutions

 

Cyber Awareness Training: What it is and What it Covers

Cyber awareness training is designed to educate employees about cyber security risks and how to protect themselves, and your company, from these security threats. Additionally, it helps your staff understand the impact their actions can have and their role in protecting data.

 

👍 Call-Out/Tip Cybersecurity awareness training programs aren’t designed to make every employee a cyber security expert. Rather, they give employees the tools and know-how to identify, isolate, and respond to cyber threats.

 

6 Benefits of Cyber Security Training

Here are six benefits of ongoing security awareness training for your organization.

 

1. Reduce the Risk of Phishing and Other Socially Engineered Attacks

Your employees are susceptible to a wide range of social engineering attacks, such as phishing emails, whaling, smishing, and piggybacking. Each attack relies on a person’s natural instincts to trust the information before them and act hastily.

One of the biggest benefits of security awareness training teaches your employees not just to identify fraudulent communications but to authenticate requests before acting on them.

 

2. Foster a Culture of Security With Cyber Awareness Training

All too often, employees see security measures as another roadblock to efficient business operations. Take, for example, the reluctance to adhere to multi-factor authentication, even though it’s regarded by Microsoft as single-handedly preventing 99.9% of cyber attacks.

Training will help foster sensitivity around the importance of cyber security measures for your business, as it will demonstrate how every employee impacts the organization’s cyber defenses and helps improve compliance with security measures.

 

 

3. Train Your Team to Handle Sensitive Data Sensitively

Employees sharing sensitive information over email or messaging platforms is definitely keeping your IT team up at night. The danger isn’t just that the data could end up with people unauthorized to handle it; it can mean you as an organization aren’t meeting Canada’s information security standards (more on that in a minute).

Cyber awareness training will build sensitivity about:

• What data should and should not be shared
• Assessing if the recipient is authorized to receive the data
• Whether the data needs to be shared
• What the most secure means of transmitting information is

Data protection goes hand-in-hand with fostering a culture of security, and can help improve your cyber resiliency.

 

4. Meet Compliance Requirements (PIPEDA, CPPA, PCI DSS, etc.)

As a business, compliance means adhering to information systems and processes that meet the regulatory requirements. Contrary to popular belief, compliance isn’t always clear-cut or binary–your employees play a part in maintaining compliance.

For instance, PIPEDA sets technical safeguards, such as maximum retention periods and standards for individual action. It leaves it to employees to process sensitive information under the rules laid down by PIPEDA.

 

Here’s How We Saved a Client From a Ransomware Attack

 

Routine employee training is vitally important for keeping your staff recent and up-to-date with changes to the regulatory framework. Expert instructors can also provide practical insights and share common do’s and don’ts that guide your team.

 

5. Protect Your Business’s Reputation

Customers today have all the tools they need to make informed decisions, and it’s not going to help if they discover reports of cyber security lapses at your organization. Just imagine how uncomfortable a customer will feel about integrating your systems with their ERP if you suffered a cyber attack recently.

Ponemon’s research showed that nearly one-third of clients stopped with healthcare companies that had experienced a cyber security breach. Nearly two-thirds said they had lost trust in the organization after the breaches were reported.

One of the biggest benefits of cyber security training is that you can be proactive about security. You can bolster your first line of defense—your employees—before a catastrophic incident and protect your reputation.

 

 

6. Save Your Business From the Walk of Shame (Data Breach Notifications and Insurance Claims)

Data breaches don’t just make for bad press, they can get you hauled before Canadian regulators for not meeting data security standards. What’s more, investigating claims, making data breach notifications, and corrective action to mitigate the impact of the breach can cost hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dollars.

Even cyber security insurance may not pay up (like it didn’t for The Brick) if human error is involved.

Cyber security awareness training is the stitch in time that can save nine. The instructors can help prepare ‘Best Practices’ and checklists that employees can use long after the training.

 

Protect Your Business With Our Cyber Awareness Training

Ongoing security awareness training is vital for an effective cyber security strategy today.

All the firewalls, cloud security, MFA, and SIEM services won’t make a difference if your team isn’t collective in their efforts. That’s why at iTBlueprint, our team of IT technicians not only elevates your security posture through cyber awareness training but also offers customizable managed security services that are built around your evolving IT needs.

Trusted by more than 180 small to large businesses, our cyber security services keep you safe from the unexpected and ensure your uptime is well protected.

For more information, contact us today about your cybersecurity training needs and we’ll be happy to help.