When implementing a cybersecurity strategy, many organizations are looking to build up defenses against outside attackers. They may overlook the fact that the threats are just as likely to come from the inside — from employees, whether acting maliciously or as unwitting participants.
For example, IBM found that insiders were responsible for 60 percent of security incidents in 2015. In many instances, simply training employees on the basics of cybersecurity hygiene can reduce your vulnerability.
Awareness First Step in Securing the Weakest Link
IT practitioners know that employees are both the weakest link in an organization’s cybersecurity and the first line of defense. Social media growth and an increasingly mobile workplace are adding new challenges — securing the perimeter through technology is no longer enough.
Educating employees about the importance of safeguarding private information will turn your workforce into a cybersecurity asset.
Strategies for Employee Training
Teaching employees basic cybersecurity hygiene is a simple step that can have a big impact. Best practices include:
- Effective passwords — train them not only to use strong passwords but also to have separate ones for different accounts. Enable multifactor authentication.
- Being alert — train them to recognize suspicious emails, social media posts and online ads that may contain malicious links or attachments.
- Regular backups — if IT doesn’t have a centralized system for backing up data, train employees on how to back up their own work.
Create A Positive Security Culture
Basic employee education should be part of a broader organizational approach to security. Follow these strategies to help your organization develop a positive security culture and strengthen the cybersecurity posture:
- Focus on trust: While it’s common to respond to a breach with increased monitoring, being transparent will help empower employees to feel part of a team that protects the company’s assets as well as the customers’ trust.
- Emphasize responsibility: It may be necessary to restrict access to certain websites, for example, but you can do that by explaining your policies in a way that resonates with employees.
- Embrace flexibility: Social media, remote-working and bring-your-own-device trends are here to stay. Instead of limiting what your employees can do, encourage the IT team to find ways to integrate some of these trends into their security approach.
- Implement a strategy: Often times, employees don’t follow good practices because they don’t know the company’s policies or procedures. Ensure you have a strategy that includes the human resources component, educate the workforce about the policies and enforce them diligently.
To be an effective first line of defense, your employees must first understand why it’s important to protect valuable information such as customer data. But they must also be armed with the tools that will help them do their part.
A partner of Fortinet and managed security services provider, CCSI can deliver the technical expertise and technology benefits you need to reinforce the strength of your cybersecurity-aware workforce. Contact the CCSI team to learn how we can help you integrate the best of technology with the best security strategies, so you can focus on what’s important to you and your customers.
