Facebook Pixel
Top

Employee Readiness: Can Your Employees Spot a Security Threat?

Employee Readiness: Can Your Employees Spot a Security Threat? | Atlantic, Tomorrow's Office

Employee Readiness: Can Your Employees Spot a Security Threat?

There is no question that data theft is a genuine threat to every type and size of business, or that every measure should be taken to protect sensitive information from hackers and thieves. The question is: Are you doing all you can to detect these threats and prevent a breach from occurring?

Your IT personnel have the tools and resources needed to ensure that software is up to date, firewalls are in place, and encryption is used during the transmission of data—but if your company is like most, one of the weakest links in the security chain may be your employees.

You can help to protect your organization and enhance cybersecurity with employee awareness training, which can teach each member of your staff to identify potential dangers to your network and help keep thieves at bay.

Common Risk Factors 

While your employees may be your biggest asset, they can also put your business at great risk for theft or loss of data, with nearly 80 percent of breaches being caused by employee negligence. Factors to consider include:

BYOD

The trend towards a mobile work environment allows for greater employee flexibility and can help your organization save money through increased productivity and a reduction in hardware costs. Unfortunately, employees who use their personal devices for work-related matters may expose your sensitive data and network to cybercriminals by failing to establish a secure connection, using weak password protection, or leaving their devices in plain view.

Information Sharing

Accidental sharing of data is common in the workplace whether due to employee error or lack of education. Training employees to be more vigilant with emails, attachments, document processing and more can reduce or eliminate these risks.

Malicious Intent 

Disgruntled employees, anyone looking for leverage with another company, or those who are being removed from their positions may opt to leak your information to a competitor.

Lack of Training and Maintenance 

If the necessary software is unavailable, hard to use, or poorly maintained, employees may seek the solution to their work-related issues from a less reliable source exposing your business to malware, ransomware, and viruses.

Benefits of Employee Awareness Training 

Ongoing education and security awareness training can help protect your organization, with benefits that include:

  • Recognize Security Risks. Employees are less likely to open suspicious attachments, download unauthorized software, or accidentally click links with proper training.
  • Avoid Recovery Costs. The average ransomware attack can cost a company upwards of five million dollars in recovery and lost revenue.
  • Elevate Security Posture. Reduce vulnerabilities within your organization by training employees to report suspicious activity, increase password strength, and ensure all communications are encrypted.
  • Business Continuity. Up to 60 percent of small businesses never recover from a data breach. Maintain continuity and consumer confidence by training employees to spot security threats before data theft can occur.
  • Remain Compliant. Satisfy regulatory compliance standards and prevent legal action or fines.

We’ve partnered with the experts at KnowBe4, a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant, to offer our customers comprehensive employee training that helps them make smarter security decisions every day. To learn more about employee training, and the many ways it can help your business stay protected, contact us today.

Download our FREE eBook:

 

Atlantic, Tomorrow's Office
No Comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.