Cybersecurity awareness training is an integral part of a business’ security posture because the people who get work done at a company can be its weakest security link if they don’t know what they need to be looking out for. Malicious actors are always trying novel and innovative ways to trick employees into downloading malicious software or handing over sensitive information, but implementing the right cybersecurity awareness training can help employees catch suspicious activity and properly report it to the business’ IT team or IT consultant. To ensure your cybersecurity training is effective, it’s critical to use the right platform, focus on relevant threats, and augment your training over time to meet employee needs!
Find the Right Learning Platform
Cybersecurity awareness training platforms are an effective way to deploy hands-on training, launch test attacks in your environment, and collect data on employee training completion and knowledge retention. The best security training platform will vary from business to business, but it is critical that the platform you choose allows you to customize the content used to train each department and offer engaging training that is worth your employee’s time. Our team recommends working with an IT consultant for your cybersecurity awareness training needs because they can be a helpful resource when you need to understand the results of your training and begin planning future training for your employees!
Train on Relevant Topics
Cybersecurity awareness training shouldn’t be seen as a one size fits all curriculum. Along with the common attack strategies everyone has seen, each department or job role in your company can be targeted by unique strategies that they need to be aware of. Tailoring the training to those specific needs for each department will help every employee be aware of the latest tricks hackers will try to use for their industry, meaning they have a better chance of noticing an attack before they click on any links or attachments. The best cybersecurity training will teach both general habits necessary for cybersecurity and specialized content relevant to each unique job role within the company.
Evolve Training Over Time
When starting to build out your company’s cybersecurity awareness training, it is critical to keep the future in mind. Malicious actors will always be innovating their attacks and trying new tricks, so your cybersecurity awareness training must take into account the newest threats in your industry and educate users on any new security solutions you implement. For example, employees should know how to interact with the multifactor authentication programs protecting their accounts, so including it as a topic in onboarding training will help employees understand how it protects their data and which attacks it protects against. SMBs can always work with their IT consultant to determine which topics they’ll need to teach as their cybersecurity awareness training develops!
Summary
Cybersecurity awareness training must be a priority for every small and medium business because a gap in employee education can easily translate into a successful cybersecurity attack that damages the business’ operations and reputation. We encourage SMBs to work with an IT consultant to ensure their cybersecurity awareness training reaches employees effectively, trains them on threats relevant to their job role, and evolves to meet the ever-changing threat horizon your business faces. Our security specialists here at Robinett Consulting want to be that IT consultant for your business, and we’re offering a complimentary consultation to your business, so we can help you develop and deploy the best training for your employees!
