You could spend millions and millions on the best technology in the world, but regardless of what you pay for its not going to stop your business from being susceptible to a cyber-attack.
“But I have the best antivirus, with the most critically acclaimed anti-spyware with the most costly firewalls.” This may protect you to a certain degree but it won’t prevent attacks on your IT infrastructures. The only real preventative measure that a business can implement is security awareness training. This is the only way to minimise the possibility of malicious interception of your computer systems.
As much as you may not want to admit it, the human element is the weakest in your cyber security lifecycle and training your staff is your best shot in tackling cyber threats as early in the chain as possible. So, with that in mind let’s look at a few of the reasons why your employees need IT security awareness training.
User education – A major cyber issue throughout the world
The Business Continuity Institute’s (BCI) recently released Cyber Resilience Report called for improved user education after revealing that nearly two thirds (64%) of global firms have experienced at least one cyber “disruption” in the past year. The report compromised interviews with 734 respondants from 69 countries showing that user education is a global issue.
Phishing and social engineering were found to be the primary cause of more than half (57%) of disruptions, highlighting the urgent need for improved user education.
The recent WannaCry and NotPetya attacks have shown just how fragile business IT infrastructure can be. The best way to address this is by properly training your staff, this way you can avoid being caught up in the next wave of business focused cyber-attacks.
Your business regulatory requirements
Whether you’re a multi-national corporation or a small startup trying to find its feet, the data you hold is valuable to hackers. This should be all the reason a company needs to invest in security awareness training, but lots of companies wait until it’s too late and only address this after there has been a data breach.
The arrival of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) next year means that any business that processes the data of EU citizens in any way will need to ensure they are safe from any data breach. If not, you could find yourself lumped with a fine of up to 4% of global turnover or 20 million euro, whichever is highest for your company. So, that reason alone is enough to invest in security awareness training.
Avoid reputational damage
As we explored above a data breach would be disastrous in terms of fines. However, what could be even more damaging is your reputational damage. CISCO’s latest annual cyber security report found that 22% of breached organisations lost customers, with a large percentage of these losing 20% of their entire customer base.
If fines don’t see off your business, then the reputational damage that comes with a breach may be the final nail in the coffin. By implementing security awareness training you are minimising the risk of a breach occuring, and perhaps more importantly becoming a data privacy champion that will have the reverse affect in the end. Instead of reputational damage, its likely this will bolster your image to potential clients and customers.
Talk to us today for the perfect solution for you and your business.
