Off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, two things have happened in the digital space. Cybercrime has skyrocketed, with offending increasing by more than 700% over the past two years. More employees than ever are working remotely and accessing company files and servers from their personal devices. The result is a perfect storm for businesses to be compromised, which is why 2023 is the year to educate your employees on cyber security.
Be Sure to Communicate Well About Cyber Security
All change starts with communication, and it’s not different when it comes to protecting your business from cyber security breaches. To educate your employees on best cyber security practices, communicating well is crucial.
Be careful to avoid unnecessary technical jargon—different individuals and generations have different levels of technical understanding, so to avoid employees tuning out or getting confused, go for the most simple way of communicating possible. Rather than talking about the consequences for company security if a breach occurs, make cybersecurity relevant to individuals by talking about what could happen to their devices and networks.
Finally, be sure to communicate frequently across a range of mediums. Research shows that people need to receive information seven times for it to be internalized. Combine this with the amount of email fatigue that exists in the workplace, and cyber security needs to be talked about from multiple angles, consistently, if it’s to have any chance of sticking.
Train Employees to Be Cyber Security Ninjas
There are several tell-tale signs of malicious activity on a device. These include slowing down, new extensions, losing control of the keyboard or mouse, and unexplained programs or apps appearing. All of these can be spotted by an eye that is trained to look for them—by getting an organization in to train your employees on proactive cyber security, those eyes can be your employees’.
Those using company devices should also be instructed on how to protect their passwords best. Firstly, passwords should be created properly so they are of an adequate strength and not easily cracked. Not only this, but employees should be using password managers as part of a safer business practice. In doing so, they minimize the chances of a cyber security attack being successful.
Keep Cyber Security an Ongoing Conversation
As ninja as your employees may be at cyber security, if it doesn’t become an ongoing conversation, your business will be at risk of becoming complacent. With all the remote work that is going on, it’s important to keep employees up to date with matters of cyber security.
Make it a habit to regularly check in on individuals’ understanding and implementation of cyber security best practices as part of the work week. Weave touch points on the topic into weekly meetings, and conduct regular audits of devices to ensure the appropriate processes are being followed. Only by doing this will you be able to keep cyber security an ongoing conversation, and as a result, protect your business from cybercrime.
