Why Cybersecurity Awareness Is Important

Most of the breaches are due to human error. We need to prevent that from happening. Cyber criminals are getting smarter, after all.

Unfortunately, the majority of the cybersecurity breaches are because of human error. What’s worse is that there is only 38% of companies and organisations around the world that aren’t actually prepared to handle a cyberattack of the sophisticated level. And even if half of the companies that exists all over the world would say that they have experienced on one or maybe two attacks, the numbers of said attacks still rises almost every month.

There are a bunch of tactics that these criminals would use in order to get what they want. For example, they use this favourite tactic of theirs called Social Engineering. It’s when they use psychological means to steal private information and therefore money from their victims. They end up giving their information away willingly or maybe they didn’t even know that they were in the first place, making the whole tactic a piece of cake for the attackers. Then there’s phishing, where they send phone links or emails to employees before their credentials get mined. The sad part? Majority of the attacks that happen are because of phishing, since it doesn’t require much talking unlike Social Engineering.

And let’s not forget about Malware, which happens to be a constant threat.

EMPLOYEE TRAINING ON CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS AND THE TOPICS COVERED

Practically, any employee that has to work with a mobile device or a computer needs to be trained to help prevent possible cyberattacks. This is so they’re prepared when an attack DOES happen. That being said, these are the topics that should be covered in terms of their training:

• Threat reaction plans
• Defensive procedures
• Attack red flags
• Current threats

Note: The simulations in the training should be as close to realistic as possible. It helps if the employees get a little bit of experience before they start their job. Criminals are getting smarter and smarter as technology evolves. You need to remember that it might be possible that the attacker is more advanced and more intelligent than you are.

Don’t forget to invest in proper and professional security experts and not settle with a basic web course. Cyberattacks are as real as you can get and they happen probably more often than real life robberies. It’s much easier to just be behind the computer and get the money rather than go outside, risk getting seen and caught by the police and be persecuted for it, after all. If you imagine yourself in the position of the attackers, it would help you cover your own basis and increase the protection too.

Of course, this training needs to be done in a secure and very controlled environment. With a customised training that will give what the employee needs, along with topics that escalates with their difficulty while they get more informed. At least enough that they can handle any lower-level threats.

Remember that doing these simulations and getting through one or two of them doesn’t mean that’s the end of that. Just like you, these criminals are capable of evolving their own tactics too. Training needs to be evolved as well and there needs to be an ongoing investment when it comes to it. New threats appear every year and new scams are being developed while you are being trained how to spot their old tactic. Think like them so you know how to handle the situation. Aside from that, get an expert’s help. Especially ones that have a numerous amount of experience fighting thieves off.