Cyber security has become a focus for companies that want to protect important data. Information is just as valuable as money, so guarding it should take on similar tactics. Before things get out of hand, teach your employees the importance of data integrity.
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Learn From the Best
The professionals at IT support services can share important knowledge about cyber security. Learning from the best is probably the most structured way to handle the onslaught of information. Cyber security is not something you can read about on the weekend and expect to know everything. There are layers, both from a preventative and protection standpoint. You can teach your employees about protection, but they will still fail to understand prevention. Since employees will always be the ‘soft’ point to any security, it is important that their cyber security education sticks. If they forget everything you taught them in a matter of weeks, then the entire lesson becomes pointless.
What Is Their Role?
Wearing different hats is part of being a team player. Taking on extra responsibilities is helpful when you understand the current role you are filling. When working outside of your normal job duties, there is still an expectation of cyber security awareness. You can’t use ‘I didn’t know’ as an excuse when the company’s reputation is on the line.
A good example of understanding changing roles is when handling confidential information. Worker #1 tells you to work part of a project on their behalf. You don’t have security clearance for the information involved in the project, but worker #1 assures you they will look into getting you access.
No matter how much training you have in cyber security, there is still a risk involved in moving forward with this project. The data is now compromised, and fingers will be pointing in different directions. But the most important part about this scenario is that multiple people were willingly involved in a breach of company security.
A worker understanding their role means that they also understand their fiduciary responsibility to the company. No matter what hat you wear at work, personal responsibility still applies to all positions.
The Next Step
It can be a little jarring for employees to hear that cyber security isn’t all about 1’s and 0’s. Paperwork, common sense and safe workplace practices are the general idea behind it all. But what about the advanced parts of cyber security awareness? When you go beyond the boring stuff, cyber security awareness means fighting off social engineering and phishing attempts.
Social engineering and phishing tricks a person into volunteering information. It can be a fake email, website or even clickable link. Social engineering is especially tricky since the source can seem valid, right down to a timestamp or signature.
There is always a tell in these scenarios, so employees have to be vigilant. Pay attention to the warnings from IT, and look for misspellings, out of place text or anything that looks suspicious. And if the link is flagged, never click it!
A Lesson That Never Ends
It’s never too late to learn the ins and outs of cyber security. Employees are a huge target for attackers that want an easy way into your business. With proper education, you can protect both your company and employees from common hacks.
