Cyber security awareness training: The easy way to enhance security

Your employees pose the greatest threat to your data security.

Did you know that 90% of all cyber-attacks are caused by human error? This isn’t surprising, considering that 61% of all employees fail a basic cyber security quiz. Even with the most advanced security technology in place, your employees will always be a risk to your data. It only takes one wrong click on a malicious email or downloads to allow cyber criminals to infiltrate your systems and launch a cyber-attack.

What types of attacks are my employees susceptible to?

Email phishing, a prevalent and successful tactic employed by cybercriminals, aims to deceive employees into disclosing confidential information. Typically, cybercriminals impersonate legitimate senders and use malicious links, downloads, or forms to obtain crucial data.

A prevalent form of email phishing is CEO fraud, where hackers mimic the email address of a senior staff member, such as a CEO. They then send emails requesting financial or personal information. For instance, a cybercriminal might email a finance department member, claiming an urgent bill payment and providing details of a bank account to transfer funds. They often create a sense of urgency, such as stating the need to be paid within the next 30 minutes.

Some of these attacks can be remarkably convincing, as hackers meticulously mimic legitimate email addresses, footers, and tone of voice. Consequently, it’s not unreasonable to assume that some staff may comply, leading to financial losses and potentially escalating the risk of a more severe cyberattack since scammers now possess your sensitive information.

The risk associated with email phishing has also heightened over the past year. With the widespread adoption of remote work, it becomes challenging to verify the authenticity of emails when unsure. Moreover, cybercriminals are increasingly devising more targeted and specific attacks. For example, phishing emails are circulating that impersonate prominent organizations like the NHS, the UK government, and the World Health Organization, promising vaccinations in exchange for personal or financial information.

In essence, email phishing exploits individuals’ concerns, vulnerabilities, and tendency to overlook details in favor of expediency. Consequently, these attacks are often successful and pose significant risks to your business.

The most effective way to combat phishing attacks is to ensure that your team has the necessary knowledge to easily identify and disregard potentially harmful emails.

The most effective way to provide this knowledge is through effective cyber security awareness training.

Cyber security awareness training educates your staff about security threats without disrupting their busy schedules. At IT Department, we swiftly and efficiently deploy companywide cyber security awareness training. Our comprehensive training comprises regular, concise training videos covering various threats, from email phishing to social media scams. Employees receive informative videos explaining current cyber-attacks and their countermeasures. After each video, they complete a short quiz to assess comprehension.

Our short and regular videos keep employees updated on the latest scams without taking time away from their workday. In contrast, dedicated days for cyber security training may not be as effective. Employees might not be fully engaged with the latest trends, and the information can be overwhelming. After a month, they may forget everything entirely. Moreover, the threat landscape evolves rapidly, rendering the information they learned outdated.

So, what is cyber security awareness training?

In addition to interactive training videos, our security training package includes simulated phishing tests. This means employees will receive spoof phishing emails regularly. These tests assess their ability to identify and ignore potentially harmful emails in real-world scenarios.

If employees click on a spoof email, they receive an informative message and are automatically enrolled in additional, relevant training. This refreshes their knowledge and prevents them from repeating the mistake in the future.

Security awareness phishing is particularly effective because it tests employees when they’re unaware of the test. This allows you to gain an accurate representation of your staff’s security awareness, enabling you to identify vulnerable individuals or departments that could benefit from additional support.

Here are some benefits of cyber security awareness training and phishing:

• Enhances the cyber security awareness of your entire workforce, protecting your business from cyber-attacks.
• Quick and concise, so it doesn’t disrupt your employees’ regular workday.
• Easy to roll out companywide.
• Engaging and interactive videos to keep your employees interested.
• Ability to assess employees’ security awareness in real-life scenarios

Next steps:

• If you’re already a client, contact your Business Technology Advisor to discuss how cyber security awareness training can enhance your business’s security.
• If you’re new to IT Department, contact us today to speak with an expert and learn how security awareness training, or any of our other services, can help your business succeed.
• Alternatively, if you’d like more information about our other security solutions, click here.