As cyber security threats evolve, employee training has become the single-most important factor for averting major threats.
Most companies approach business cyber security solely as a technology problem. They purchase systems that monitor and identify threats as they occur, but neglect to change their own personnel practices and policies.
While the technology for monitoring and averting cyber security threats can definitely form a solid defense, the problem ultimately begins and ends with people. People are the reason that cyber security threats exist, and people are their ultimate targets. Rapidly spreading viruses like NotPetya largely infiltrate through employee mistakes, often as the result of them opening suspicious emails or following suspicious links.
Therefore, training end users is just as important — if not more important — than implementing defensive cyber security systems. This vital component is why we highly recommend employee cyber security training in order to dramatically reduce a company’s risk of threats in the first place.
The Importance and Effectiveness of Employee Cyber Security Training
IT departments and IT consulting companies implement cyber security solutions, and these tech-literate individuals may overlook employee knowledge gaps when putting these systems in place. What may seem like a “suspicious email” to some may look perfectly innocent to others.
Even those who consider themselves proficient at computer technology can fall victim to highly deceptive phishing emails through social engineering. For instance, a recent spate of fake Google Doc invites led users to an extremely convincing log-in screen designed to steal passwords and embed itself on team Google Drives.
Incidents like this reveal that the weakest link in company cyber security is not the technology itself but, rather, the employees. Knowing this, the latest threats mostly stem from attempts to trick employees into allowing aggressors to hijack their accounts. Through these intrusion vectors, the threat can often spread autonomously, all from a single compromised user.
For this reason, employee training is critical. Employees must know for certain how to recognize activities as suspicious — and how to confirm whether or not any suspicious activities are legitimate threats. They must also be deterred from negligent actions like careless browsing or deactivating their firewall. End user skills have become so valuable that institutions like the State of Illinois are mandating cyber security training for all their employees.
An Optimal Employee Cyber Security Training Solution
Alongside our comprehensive threat prevention, monitoring, and aversion solutions, U.S. Computer Connection offers a suite of employee training options designed for maximum effectiveness.
These solutions involve self-guided training sessions and phishing “drills” designed to help you assess your team’s response to a simulated threat. You can monitor drill performance over time, schedule automated training sessions and more through a handy, cloud-based solution. You can also use these tools to receive reports on overall threat patterns compared to your employees’ drill performance.
By educating employees through real-world exercises mimicking actual threats past users have fallen for, you can raise their awareness of cyber security risks, give them the tools they need to avert threats and ensure compliance with company policies. Together, their increased skills form a “human firewall” against intrusions and other threats.
Contact U.S. Computer Connection today if you want more information on employee cyber security training or to start upskilling your end users now.