Unfortunately in reality, many employees are taking unnecessary risks online that could seriously compromise your business.
To remain safe, staff members must be trained in the best cyber security practices available. The good news is that many of these practices are very simple and not particularly time-consuming. However these practices could be the difference between a Cyber security breach and the safe handling of your data.
When staff members follow a comprehensive training plan, the company’s cyber security becomes much stronger. Here are some of the items that need to be covered in that plan:
Passwords
Protecting your passwords is probably the easiest and most basic precaution to take, which is why I wanted to mention this first, people often take shortcuts in this area to save time and to avoid memorising different passwords. Staff should be trained to create passwords that are at least 8 characters long and contain letters, numbers and symbols.
Most employees stick to simple passwords that hackers can easily figure out. The most common passwords that people use can be cracked in just a few seconds.
Unauthorised software
Staff members must be trained to never download unauthorised software and then keep reinforcing that message whenever possible. Even seemingly harmless programs can cause catastrophic company-wide problems if they are infected with malware or viruses.
Because employees may download free software at home, they may think twice before doing so at work. This simple mistake can compromise your company’s productivity for hours, if not days, and cost your business huge amounts of money.
“Live Fire” training exercises
One of the most effective staff training methods is a series of simulated exercises set up by an outside company. Employees are expected to react to these attacks in real-time, and then afterwards, they’ll receive advice on how to avoid any mistakes they might have made during the exercise.
We have found this to be extremely successful as most people learn better from experience than from lectures or handouts.
Cyber security advisers
Your company can benefit from appointing cyber security advisers. Choose a tech-savvy person to monitor cyber security practices and offer friendly advice to other staff members who need help in this area. A friendly word from a colleague is much more effective than guidance from management.
These advisers can also offer suggestions to management about new methods to keep data secure based on their observations. Plus, involving employees in cyber security makes it a team effort and not just a concern for management.
Protecting your company from your staff members ‘bad habits’ could save your business.
