What Your Employees Need to Know About Cybersecurity

If you own a business, no matter the size or industry, it’s essential to educate your employees about cybersecurity threats. Cybersecurity education and awareness help protect your employees, customers, and business. At Tekie Geek, we provide a range of IT services to businesses in New York and New Jersey, including managed IT services like cybersecurity risk assessments, protection against phishing campaigns, and more. Here, we explain the importance of educating your employees and our cyber awareness employee training options.

What Is Cybersecurity Awareness?

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting IT infrastructure like systems, networks, and data from cyberattacks. Cybersecurity awareness simply means educating people, particularly employees of organizations, about the importance of cybersecurity best practices and indicators of cyber threats to reduce the risk of them occurring. Cybersecurity awareness is essential for keeping a business protected against cyber threats and protecting sensitive information.

Why Is It Important to Educate Employees About Cybersecurity?

There are several reasons it’s important to educate your employees about cybersecurity, regardless of the size of your company or the industry you’re in. Educating employees about cybersecurity can:

• Reduce your risk of cyberattacks and data breaches
• Minimize human error that can lead to breaches, such as clicking phishing links
• Create strong security practices and policies
• Reinforce confidentiality and privacy
• Ensure compliance with regulations

Investing in cybersecurity awareness training for employees can also help establish your business as a socially responsible and compliant organization, which can benefit you with customers. So, how do you educate your employees about cybersecurity awareness? Consider investing in cybersecurity employee training from IT experts like Tekie Geek.

Types of Cyber Awareness Employee Training

When it comes to educating your employees on cybersecurity and cyber awareness, there are various types of training you can pursue. Depending on the size and type of your business, you may want to invest in multiple types of employee training or focus on one or two. Cybersecurity training options include:

Security Awareness Training

One of the most basic types of cybersecurity training is security awareness training, which educates employees on identifying and responding to cybersecurity threats and protecting their organization's assets. This training helps employees understand their role in preventing security breaches and keeping sensitive information and accounts safe. Security awareness training can include topics like:

• Password management, including using strong passwords, not reusing them, and not keeping them written down for others to see
• Using multi-factor authentication for accessing accounts and networks
• Following company policies for encrypting shared information
• Information on ransomware, malware, and phishing and how to avoid them
• Desktop and physical security requirements

Some organizations, like those that comply with industry regulations like HIPAA, PCI, ISO, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, are required to provide security awareness training to their employees. However, even businesses that aren't required to comply can benefit from security awareness training.

Compliance Security Training

Compliance security training is a type of security awareness training that teaches employees how to protect sensitive information and comply with regulations, whether they’re required by law, industry standards, or company policies. Compliance security training typically covers elements like:

• Identifying and responding to security threats
• Securely accessing and backing up sensitive data
• Avoiding inappropriate or weak security practices
• Maintaining the security, confidentiality, and integrity of customer information and data
• Being aware of attempted tampering or replacement of devices

Investing in compliance training can help your business safeguard sensitive data and customer information, while also ensuring compliance and mitigating your legal risks.

Social Engineering Training

Social engineering attacks manipulate employees into revealing confidential information or performing actions that compromise security. They often use psychological tactics and communication via phone calls, emails, or in-person conversations. Social engineering training helps teach employees about recognizing and responding to social engineering attacks, as well as how to prevent them. Employees can learn about the tactics used by cybercriminals to exploit people, how to identify them, and how to respond when presented with a potential social engineering attack.

Simulated Phishing Attacks

Phishing and spear phishing are fraudulent practices that trick people into revealing sensitive information. These scams often target businesses and employees and can be highly detrimental to operations. One way to test if employees are cognizant of phishing threats is to perform simulated phishing attacks or phishing tests. This involves sending fake emails to employees of an organization to test if they can recognize phishing attacks. These tests can benefit businesses by identifying vulnerable employees and potential learning opportunities. They can also teach employees about new phishing tactics and how to avoid them, which can reduce the risk of falling for real phishing attacks.‍

Malware Training

Malware is software that is designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system. It can be damaging to your business and overall operations, so it’s important to educate your employees about what malware is, how to recognize it, and how to avoid it with malware training. Topics covered in malware training include:

• How to identify malware
• The different kinds of malware, like viruses, worms, ransomware, and spyware
• How to prevent malware
• What to do if they are infected

Investing in malware training can help make sure your business is protected against cybersecurity threats.

These are some of the main cybersecurity and cyber awareness training options for employees, but it is not an exhaustive list. Cybersecurity training and education can be adapted to different types of employees, such as in-house employees, remote employees, executives, and third-party contractors.

Frequently Asked Questions About Cybersecurity Employee Education

What are the most common cybersecurity threats employees should be taught about?

The most common cybersecurity threats employees should be educated about include phishing attacks, ransomware, malware, social engineering, data breaches, and insider threats.

Are there other methods that can provide awareness about cybersecurity to employees?

Yes, there are other ways to raise awareness of cybersecurity to employees, besides the training types mentioned above. One option is gamification, which uses engaging games to educate employees about cybersecurity threats and risks. Two other options are role-playing scenarios and sharing real-world examples, which can help employees understand the magnitude of cybersecurity threats and what could potentially happen if they don’t take it seriously.

How can companies legally enforce cybersecurity policies?

Employers can legally require employees to follow cybersecurity rules, especially if they are compliant with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, HIPAA, PCI, etc. However, sometimes employees can still act in non-compliant ways. To help enforce these policies, companies can have binding employment agreements and strict cybersecurity policies with consequences for employees who break them.

Tekie Geek Can Help You Educate Your Employees About Cybersecurity

At Tekie Geek, we have the experience necessary to protect your business from cybersecurity threats and keep it running smoothly. Our managed IT services can help safeguard your business and educate your employees on cybersecurity best practices. Some of the services we provide to do so include:

• Cybersecurity risk assessments
• User policies
• 24/7/365 monitoring
• Real threat hunting
• Protection against phishing campaigns
• Secure file access and secure remote access

We also offer business continuity and disaster recovery solutions that can restore your operations in the event an incident or attack happens.

Educate Your Employees With Help From Tekie Geek

Whether you own a small business or a larger company, educating your employees about cybersecurity and cyber awareness can benefit you in many ways. To get started with cybersecurity awareness training for your employees in New York or New Jersey, contact us at Tekie Geek today and see how our IT superheroes can help your business.

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