Why Cybersecurity Employee Training is Key to Protecting Sensitive Data

One key reason why cyber-attacks are successful is that people do not realize what they are and how to protect themselves from them. That’s being taken full advantage of by attackers. Some reports indicate that 68 percent of salespersons fall victim to online scams, and phishing attacks on businesses have increased by three times in 2024. It is the human factor that can endanger a company’s long-term viability and compromise sensitive data. The methods of reducing risks are discussed in this article.

The Role of Human Behavior in Cybersecurity

For businesses, low employee cyber literacy poses significant risks. From an ‘IT specialist’ phoning an employee saying they need their corporate account password, to an insecure corporate account password, the baddies can access a company’s systems. For a business, such an incident can have unwanted or even critical consequences on sensitive data, such as:

• Leakage of user and corporate data;
• Theft of intellectual property;
• Loss of access to critical information;
• Disruption of IT infrastructure;
• Loss of reputation and fines;
• A complete shutdown of operations.

Thus, if you do not emphasize your employees’ knowledge of cyber defense, you may be wasting your efforts to enhance a solid cyber defense. For example, a company could have many technical safeguards in place but may not have a password policy or enforce it. This, therefore, results in employees creating passwords that are relatively easy to crack.

Another example is that there might be specific sets of corporate cybersecurity rules used by an organization, but those are often written in a very complex and formal way. Your employees will not be using it, because they will believe it is unnecessary bureaucracy.

Risk Groups

Employees who do not work in IT are more likely to engage in actions that jeopardize the company’s sustainability. They can, however, open a malicious email because cybercriminals are so well-prepared. Cybercriminals may have been monitoring the activities of a specific person for an extended period, preparing a targeted attack against them, and crafting the phishing email in a tailored manner. That is why it is crucial to enhance the cyber literacy of all employees within a company, with training tailored to each department’s specific threats.

Business impact analysis can be used to determine when a cyberattack on employees would result in the most significant losses. It provides a comprehensive picture of potential threats, both internal and external. It assists you in determining the possible consequences of incidents, such as property damage, service degradation, or a loss of market position:

• Identifying critical processes and operations that are at risk due to human error;
• Determining the extent of the consequences of an incident;
• Grouping employees involved in these processes into target groups based on occupation and the mechanics of a potential attack on them.
• Developing an action plan for regular training and briefings for each group.

Better Ways to Protect Yourself

To mitigate the risk of leaks and hacks, it is crucial to implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy that encompasses both technical and organizational safeguards. Here are some proven methods to protect your company:

Managing Access to Data

Access to sensitive data and information should be strictly controlled, and clear access policies should be established for each employee role. Role definition and user action monitoring are among the features of access control policies.

Cloud-Based Solutions

Cloud solutions have become an essential part of corporate infrastructure, offering convenient and flexible options for data storage and program access and enabling remote work. Some common examples include:

• Project management systems, such as Trello or Asana, enable teams to organize tasks, manage deadlines, and track progress.
• Cloud-based solutions for call centers, such as MightyCall, JustCall, and CloudTalk, enable employees to handle customer inquiries from anywhere using the Internet and remote tools.
• Collaboration platforms, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, provide access to shared documents, email, and calendars from anywhere.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, such as Salesforce, help businesses manage client databases, automate sales processes, and enhance customer interactions.

While cloud technologies offer significant advantages, they also come with inherent risks:

• Configuration vulnerabilities. Misconfigured cloud services can lead to sensitive data leaks, particularly when weak passwords or a lack of two-factor authentication is involved.
• Dependence on third-party providers. Data security is directly tied to the protection levels provided by the service provider, making it crucial to choose reliable and well-established solutions.
• Susceptibility to cyberattacks. Cloud systems are frequent targets for hackers aiming to access corporate data.

To mitigate these risks, businesses should focus on the following measures:

• Choosing trusted providers. Opt for solutions from reputable companies with strong security measures and a proven track record.
• Regular security audits. Continuously review cloud system configurations, enforce access control policies, and implement robust encryption standards;
• Employee training. Equip staff with the knowledge to work securely with cloud platforms and effectively address human factor risks.

While cloud technologies are indispensable in today’s digital landscape, their benefits come with responsibilities. To harness their full potential, organizations must approach their adoption with a clear understanding of potential threats and a well-defined strategy for minimizing risks.

Regular Updates and Patch Management

Updating software and patching vulnerabilities is an essential step in preventing cyberattacks. Malware frequently targets known vulnerabilities, and companies that fail to apply updates put themselves at risk. Regular software updates and vulnerability scans can help to prevent such attacks.

Importance of Employee Training

Employee training is essential for any company. This is especially true for cybersecurity specialists. It affects not only the quality of their work but also the overall viability of the business.

What Is a SOC?

The most important thing is to have a well-coordinated team of specialists working on security systems. For this reason, businesses are increasingly establishing a Security Operations Center (SOC) division. Its responsibilities include monitoring, assessing, and protecting corporate IT systems, as well as addressing information and cybersecurity issues in the enterprise. SOC is a collection of people, processes, and security technologies used to continuously monitor the state of information systems, design and configure them, track undesirable user behavior, and prevent and mitigate cyberattacks on sensitive data.

Practical Training Is the Key to Improving Employee Skills

Where can I find qualified specialists? The answer, it appears, is simple: hire them. However, there is a severe shortage of them on the market. Furthermore, even the most seasoned professionals in today’s world must constantly improve their abilities. One option is to attend professional training. At such events, specialists acquire the most recent and in-demand technical skills, learn how to utilize new tools, broaden their knowledge base, and, as a result, gain the ability to withstand modern cyber threats.

Companies recognize the value of training and employee education in general. According to a joint ESG and ISSA survey titled “The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals,” 42% of surveyed IT professionals believe that additional cybersecurity team members’ courses and training would be most beneficial to their organization’s future cyber threat protection efforts. At the same time, 34% of respondents believe that all IT employees should receive cybersecurity training, and 40% believe that non-IT employees should as well.

However, approaches to learning are critical. Listening to a series of lectures is essential and beneficial, but without putting the knowledge gained into practice, a significant portion of the information received will be forgotten. According to the “forgetting curve” developed by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, if training information is not consolidated, people tend to forget about 80% of it within 48 hours. The inclusion of practical elements in training significantly enhances their effectiveness, especially in areas such as cybersecurity and networking.

Here’s what you should consider when training employees:

Conduct regular simulated attacks on the entire company to determine the actual level of preparedness for a cyber incident. To organize them, you can use off-the-shelf IT solutions that focus on security awareness. Regular training boosts employees’ resistance to phishing by nine times. The implementation of accountability for noncompliance with cybersecurity regulations has the potential to improve training effectiveness.

Training materials and tests should be kept up to date so that employees are promptly aware of new cyber threats. It is best to establish a dedicated corporate communication channel (such as chat, email, or phone) for immediate reporting of suspected incidents and to ask questions of a cybersecurity specialist.

Teach employees the first steps to take if a cyber incident is suspected, such as not restarting the computer, taking screenshots for security, and immediately contacting an IT specialist.

Best Practices for Effective Training Programs

Due to the pandemic, a large number of employees were required to work from home. While this had some advantages, the situation for most companies concerned about data security did not improve. Cybersecurity training is now one of the most critical tasks for remote workers. Here are seven tips for training employees to protect your business and your sensitive data:

1. Keep the Training Simple

It’s fine if employees don’t understand phishing, SSL encryption, or firewalls. Avoid using a complex, academic presentation style and knowledge that has no practical applications. Training employees on how to respond to cyberattacks is far superior to telling them cybersecurity stories detailing bad cases in some companies’ histories.

2. Discuss the Importance of SSL Certificates

SSL certificates, or Secure Socket Layer certificates, are security protocols that encrypt a website’s connection using a public key infrastructure. SSL prevents cybercriminals from intercepting data sent between your website’s server and the user’s browser. Otherwise, your employees may be exposed to malicious websites, resulting in their systems being compromised and their data being stolen.

3. Don’t Allow Employees to Store Unnecessary Sensitive Data

It is impossible to predict when a cyberattack will occur, so it is best to prepare ahead of time with a variety of safeguards. First and foremost, instruct your employees not to store sensitive data or customer information, and ensure that the confidentiality of stored data is strictly maintained.

Do not store everything in your website’s database. Hackers can gain access through weak passwords, poor hosting, and even outdated plugins. Explain to your employees what information to keep and what to discard. Furthermore, keep their access to the admin panel as limited as possible.

4. Do Not Trust Anyone

Yes, your CTO or COO may be your best friend, but it’s still a bad idea to give them access to company information just for that reason. It is also critical to ensure that everyone follows proper password hygiene. Furthermore, the manager should demonstrate and lead by example in terms of responsible cybersecurity.

5. Make Learning Fun

Gamification is an effective way to enhance the enjoyment of learning. Call the first half of your employees cybercriminals (for fun, of course) and assign them the task of hacking into a system, while the other half are tasked with saving the company. This will enable them to better prepare for attacks and gain a deeper understanding of how cybercriminals think. Furthermore, creating such a scenario will increase the training’s accessibility and engagement.

6. Respect Employee Personal Boundaries

Employees cannot be expected to be available at work at all times. So, before holding them accountable for a violation, ensure you’re not expecting them to work outside of their regular working hours.

Unexpected demands for workforce employees to take desperate measures, such as logging in via public Wi-Fi or a friend’s phone to access the domain. Furthermore, you cannot accuse employees of being irresponsible if you violate their personal boundaries by running errands on personal time.

7. Enroll Employees into a Two-Factor Authentication System

Create a two-factor authentication (2FA) system to secure all login pages on your website. Please make sure that pages can only be accessed after the user enters a one-time password sent to their registered cell phone number.

When multiple failed login attempts are detected, IP addresses should be blocked and carefully examined. This technique will help even remote employees become more organized and attentive. Furthermore, it will allow you to monitor their activity.

The trend of remote working is becoming increasingly popular, which in turn increases employers’ responsibility to provide all necessary conditions for it. That is why it is crucial to establish a dependable organizational infrastructure that enables the effective management of each employee while also providing a safe working environment.

Measuring Training Effectiveness

Once a training program has been implemented, the question becomes, how do you assess its success? There are several methods for measuring the effectiveness of cybersecurity training:

• Evaluation of security incidents before and after training. One of the most reliable indicators is the change in the number of cyber incidents following training. If the number of incidents is significantly reduced, you can conclude that the training was practical.
• Testing employees. Periodic tests and attack simulations can help you determine how well your employees have internalized information. For example, you could send out fake phishing emails to see how many employees respond.
• Conduct surveys and solicit feedback. Getting feedback from employees is also essential. Identifying which aspects were beneficial and which require refinement can help improve and make subsequent courses more useful.
• Analysis of key performance indicators. Setting specific goals, such as reducing the number of incidents by 30%, will help quantify the program’s success and effectiveness. If KPIs are met or exceeded, it indicates that the training had a positive impact.
• Continue to analyze in the long term. It is crucial to monitor how training impacts the company’s overall safety culture in the long run, as employees may gradually lose knowledge once they have been trained.

These methods provide information about the program’s effectiveness and areas for improvement.

What We End Up With

The human element remains a significant part of cybersecurity, and employee training is not an optional extra, but rather a necessary component in protecting sensitive data. Creating a company-specific training program and utilizing proven methods to measure results can help mitigate the risks associated with human error, while also enhancing a company’s security against cyber threats, especially in environments where platforms like LimeTorrents or similar file-sharing sites may expose networks to added risks.