How to Make Your Employees More Cyber-Aware

When it comes to cybersecurity, it’s not just the technology that can make or break the process. It’s also the people involved in your organization. Aside from maintaining a reliable IT team, you also have to promote a cyber-aware workplace. It starts by educating and training your employees.

Since nearly half of cyberattacks are being targeted at small businesses, you can’t sit back and hope that hackers will spare your vulnerable network. So to start, here are some ways to make your employees more cyber-aware:

Start at the top

For rank and file employees to embrace cyber awareness, you need to start from the top. The leadership of your business will significantly influence how your employees will see cyber threats. Train and educate the senior management so the knowledge will trickle down to the lower positions. Also, management should spearhead the process and be the first people to follow the rules.

Use gamification

Many employees love it when they are challenged in exchange for a reward. You can use the idea of gamification so your employees will handle your cyber literacy program to its full potential. Anyone who implements the security measures and gets the highest score can be on the leaderboard.

From challenging them to generate the strongest passwords to detecting threats, a little reward can go a long way.

Train your staff

Cybersecurity isn’t a one-shot target. It should be a continuous process, much like your marketing efforts or your business strategy. As hackers keep advancing with the aid of the latest technology, your employees’ knowledge shouldn’t be left behind.

Just like what the experts say, “hack” your employees first before the bad guys hack them.

Kiss weak passwords goodbye

Weak and repetitive passwords are the golden ticket of hackers to your system. Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Investigations Reports stated that as much as 81% of hacking-related breaches were due to weak or stolen passwords.

Password education is a great topic that you can add to your cyber literacy program. That also means that default passwords should go out of the window.

Set the right mindset for new hires

Whenever you let new people to your company, you should consider cyber literacy as a requirement. Let them know that you put cybersecurity on top of your company’s priorities. By setting the right mindset, you can save yourself from issues later on. You may also indicate cyber-awareness as an advantage for the position.

Launch “live fire” drills

There’s no better way to test your employees’ cyber-awareness than in staging an “attack”. It’s like earthquake drills where you simulate possible scenarios and what should be done to prevent the breach. A simulated attack can also be gamified to push your employees to take cybersecurity seriously.

Make it personal 

More often than not, your employees think that there’s not much at stake for them when the company’s system gets hacked. It will help if your employee realizes that his or her personal information is also on the wringer when a hacker gets into your network.