Like all organizations, our clients face the growing threat of falling victim to a cyber-attack. If organizations as large as Experian and the City of Atlanta can be hacked, it’s likely you can be too.
Let’s be honest: there’s no silver bullet to cybersecurity. Even with the best security measures in place, you’re at risk, because so much of those attacks rely on your employees to know what to do. In 2019, a study that found that 90% of all security breaches came down to human error.
Of all the ways that you reduce the likelihood of a successful attack, it’s clear that the most important is employee cybersecurity awareness training.
Recently, one of our clients nearly sent a check with bank account information included during an attempted social engineering crime. The hacker had sent a phishing email that looked so professional and authentic that the high-level accountant trusted it. She was just about to mail the check when she began to question the legitimacy of the request. There were certain subtle red flags that made her feel uneasy. Once she asked questions and made a few calls, she discovered the email was fake and the sender was not one of their vendors. She relied on the training she had to avoid sending thousands of dollars to this malicious actor.
Would your accountant know to double-check a seemingly valid request for payment?
What is cyber-security awareness training?
Cybersecurity awareness training teaches employees how to identify and avoid malicious acts and actors attempting to access your network, data and finances. It includes things like:
- Avoiding and responding to ransomware
- Password protection
- Detecting phishing campaigns
- Preventing malware
- Physical security
- Safe operational procedures
- Mobile device use
- Multi-factor authentication
Our experience with our clients is that many aren’t even aware of the threats and defenses that exist or how easy they are to implement. Many assume that we have it all covered. While we do a lot to ensure your security, there are specific actions you can and should take beyond those measures. One of those is budget-friendly cybersecurity awareness training that is fun, engaging, informative and effective.
Ultimately, the key result of a budget-friendly cybersecurity awareness training that is fun, engaging, informative and effective is an office of security-conscious employees who act as your front line of defense on anything that gets through.
Why you need cyber-security awareness training
Had the accountant sent payment to the hacker, the company would have lost much more than the money stolen by the hacker and an accountant. The company would have had to face the added significant costs in time and money of changing core operating information (bank accounts numbers, etc.), a tarnished reputation and the potential loss of customers.
Fortunately, the accountant had the insight – just in time – to double-check the authenticity of the request. But consider the consequences had payment been requested online by the hacker under the name of a well-known software subscription service?
Your employees must be proactive in defending your organization against cyber-attacks. Effective cybersecurity awareness training is the only way to give them the knowledge and tools to actively prevent network breaches or unintentional disclosure of data.
You can’t defend against the threats you don’t know about, and you can’t employ best practices if you don’t know them.
Won’t it cost me?
QuickHelp, our online learning management system, is affordable and delivered on a subscription basis to keep the price point down while allowing access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Beyond security awareness training, it also includes a lot of other relevant training on things like Microsoft software and applications that can increase productivity, awareness and effectiveness for all your team. Most importantly, the cost of any cybersecurity awareness training is not nearly as expensive as a successful cyber-attack. Our QuickHelp training programs can be tailored to your organization’s needs and budget – making the cost a reasonable training expense.
How do I get started?
To get your organization started on the path to being cybersecurity-aware, click here to get more information about our training program, QuickHelp. If you are an Applied Tech customer, contact your technical account manager with any questions.
