It starts with a single click. An employee rushing through emails unknowingly opens an attachment disguised as an invoice. A few hours later, when malicious software finishes encrypting critical company data, suddenly, a ransom demand appears on screen as they’re trying to get work done.
This type of scenario occurs daily across organizations of all sizes as cybercriminals grow more sophisticated in their tactics. These breaches can have devastating consequences, from financial loss to exposing sensitive information, like in the case of the recent cyberattack on an Ontario school board.
How can you get started with protecting your organization when cyber threats are rising at an alarming rate, fueled by the rapid adoption of cloud technology, remote work, and artificial intelligence?
Educating your employees will be critical to navigating these challenges. Below, we break down the benefits of end-user awareness training and how you can implement it to mitigate your risk.
The Role Employees Play in Your Cybersecurity
A company’s cybersecurity is only as strong as its employees. In fact, there’s a significant correlation between human error and data breaches. Some research even says that it could be the case in up to 95% of cases!
While robust cybersecurity solutions are key to reducing weaknesses in your posture, employees remain the first—and often the most vulnerable—line of defense against cyber threats.
In some cases, they may simply not know how to spot the warning signs of a cyber threat! But even when people are aware of best practices, the daily demands of their job can cause them to make mistakes like sending sensitive information to the wrong person, forgetting to follow security protocols, or ignoring computer updates that patch vulnerabilities.
Common Threats Employees Face
Without proper training and awareness, even a well-intentioned employee can unknowingly open the door to an incident. Here are the most frequent ways that the people who work for you might put your data at risk:
Falling victim to social engineering attacks
Whether it’s callback phishing, QR code phishing, pretexting, business email compromise, or another format, these types of cyberattacks exploit basic human psychology to execute malware and ransomware attacks. A bad actor crafts a legitimate-seeming message that preys on the recipient’s emotions, like urgency, fear, or curiosity, to trick them into making snap decisions
An email claiming to be from the CEO demanding immediate action, a fake invoice from a vendor, or a fraudulent “security alert” asking for login credentials—these tactics work because they pressure employees into acting before thinking.
Enabling credential theft
Poor password hygiene is often the culprit of a data breach! Often, employees use weak, easily guessable passwords or reuse the same passwords across multiple accounts. In other cases, they may neglect to change their passwords regularly, making it much easier for cybercriminals to gain unauthorized access to sensitive systems and data using “credential stuffing,” when bad actors take stolen username and password combinations from one breach and try them on other websites or services.
Failing to consider out-of-office security
Remote and hybrid work has plenty of benefits for organizations, such as increased employee morale, flexibility, and productivity. Yet without a robust out-of-office security plan, your data protection may suffer.
When employees use unsecured connections, such as public Wi-Fi networks at coffee shops or airports, they unknowingly put their devices and data at risk of cybercriminals intercepting them.
They might also forget to secure their devices, leaving laptops or smartphones unattended where they could be stolen or accessed by someone who shouldn’t be.
If they feel they need new ways to complete projects more efficiently, your employees may use unapproved applications, also known as Shadow IT. While this may seem easy—they don’t have to wait to connect with your IT team and can move on to their next task more quickly—these unmonitored tools often lack the necessary security controls.
Key Components of User Awareness Training
Gone are the days when simple antivirus software was enough to keep your data safe. Instead, organizations need a proactive, people-centered, multi-layered defense strategy to safeguard their operations—one that prioritizes equipping employees with the knowledge and skills they need to identify and defend against cyber threats.
A comprehensive curriculum should teach your team how to:
- Recognize phishing schemes: They should know to expect them in various formats—email, text message, social media—and be trained to spot red flags like suspicious sender addresses, unfamiliar links, or urgent requests for personal information
- Leverage robust access management methods: Teach your employees how to create complex passwords and implement multi-factor authentication whenever possible!
- Handle data safely: Every employee should understand your organization’s procedures for sharing, storing, using, changing, or processing company information.
- Ensure remote work security: Explain how to secure their home networks and mobile devices, such as installing updates regularly, leveraging encryption on mobile devices, and enabling robust security settings. You should also set up clear guidelines about where they can work when they are not in-office! If you don’t want them to connect to the library’s network, let them know.
Best Practices for Effective Security Awareness Training
To maintain a strong defense against cyber threats, you can’t just hand employees a booklet or deliver a one-time session. Training will truly resonate and stick if it’s:
Ongoing and continuous
Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and your employees should, too. Otherwise, their knowledge will quickly become outdated and insufficient to mitigate your risk! Regular training sessions ensure your team stays up-to-date on the latest threats and tactics, reinforce previous learning, and encourage employees to remain vigilant.
Engaging and interactive
When employees can actively participate through real-life scenarios, phishing simulations, or gamifying the process through challenges, they’re more likely to internalize the lessons. Security training will also be less likely to feel like a chore and more like a valuable skill-building experience, where they’ll actually care about recognizing potential threats in their daily work.
Versatile and dynamic
You’ll want to see if you’re making a real impact by measuring your results through follow-up tests, surveys, or employee activity. Are people still capable of identifying phishing attempts a few weeks after training? Are they adhering to security policies? You need to check to see if your investment is making a difference!
You’ll also want to get feedback from your users so you can fine-tune training materials and methods so they remain relevant and practical.
Protect Your Organization with Expert-Led Cybersecurity Training
End-user security awareness training is one of the best ways to prevent a cyber threat from wreaking havoc on your systems and IT infrastructure. When that education is led by professionals who understand the complexities of modern cyber threats, you’ll be more likely to create an effective security-conscious culture in your workplace.
As part of our managed IT services at PC Corp, we offer our clients IT training focused on cybersecurity awareness education. Our experts also provide support with implementing a zero-trust security framework and creating a resilient IT infrastructure through regular monitoring and maintenance.
Don’t leave your organization’s security to chance! Contact us to strengthen your defenses and rely on technology that empowers your productivity, rather than holding you back.
