Businesses all over the world are investing more into their cybersecurity strategies than ever before. A press release published by Gartner forecast an annual global spend of $123.8 billion by the end of 2020. High-profile data breaches constantly make the headlines, and the evolving threat landscape is driving the need for more spending; a trend that’s showing no signs of slowing down in the foreseeable future.
Network security must be at the forefront of any business IT support strategy, but it’s also important to remember that cybersecurity doesn’t start or finish with technology itself. The fact remains that most data breaches are the result of human error, and no amount of cutting-edge technology can guard against plain old negligence. Sure, technology is an integral part of any security strategy, but it’s only ever going to be as effective as your team is at following industry best practices and your internal security policies.
Therein lies the importance of security awareness training behind any cybersecurity strategy. After all, no amount of security policies or access controls can stop someone on your team from sharing a sensitive document outside the company. You must turn your employees into human firewalls rather than your weakest links. That’s what makes an ongoing security awareness training program so important in an age when the threat landscape is constantly changing and evolving.
The Importance of Employee Buy-in
One of the biggest challenges management teams and IT departments have when it comes to implementing a security training program is that employees often don’t take the process seriously enough. In fact, many Americans don’t even secure their smartphones with a PIN code, despite using them for everything from online shopping to banking. The reality is that most people are not aware of the security risks on the internet, and that’s not a situation you can tolerate in your business when you’re routinely handling sensitive data belonging to your customers, employees, and partners.
Just because your staff relies on computers and the internet to do their jobs doesn’t mean they understand the importance of cybersecurity. That’s why trying to educate them about it from an academic standpoint isn’t likely to get you anywhere. Rather, they need something they can relate to in the form of real-world simulations and scenarios. The old-school approach simply doesn’t help employees learn how to spot a phishing email or how to share a file securely.
Effective Security Awareness Training
Cybersecurity awareness is the responsibility of everyone in your organization, and thus, an effective awareness training program for all employees is an important aspect of your cybersecurity strategy.
F1 Solutions Inc. is a proud partner of KnowBe4, the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform. As a Platinum partner, F1 is able to provide exceptional phishing campaign testing to your staff. You will also have access to thousands of training videos for your staff. As you know, most cyber regulations require a robust cyber security awareness training and this can be your answer.
Vishing Security Tests allow you to create canned messages and responses to find out how well your employees respond to a phone scam. What’s more, KnowBe4’s USB Security Test gives you “beaconized” files you can upload onto any USB Drive to test whether employees plug suspicious devices into their workstation and open potentially dangerous files.
In addition to simulations, KnowBe4 improves security awareness with customized training packages that include informative videos, compliance modules, and cybersecurity briefings. If employees don’t know how to deal with a suspicious email or link, KnowBe4 even embeds Phish Alert buttons to report potential cyberattacks and Security Tooltips to encourage safe online practices.
Finally, KnowBe4 generates a comprehensive report of your company’s phishing replies, social engineering exposure, and overall security awareness levels to give you actionable insights on how you can improve.
The dynamic nature of technology and the cyberthreat landscape means every business between Hunstville and Madison and beyond needs to put security at the forefront of their IT strategy. Here at F1 Solutions, we help make that possible with ongoing awareness training and extensive security and compliance auditing. Call us today for an assessment.
