Your Employee's Cyber Awareness Is Critical

As part of the Coronavirus lockdown, non-essential businesses were forced to close their physical premises and move to ways of remote working to continue functioning and because of the less cyber secure home-working in 2020, organisations saw an increase in both ransomware and phishing attacks. On top of all the current cyber security issues with the virus, phishing scams have significantly increased.

Cyber criminals wasted no time in exploiting this opportunity, casting thousands of COVID-related lures onto perhaps more vulnerable than usual users.

According to thier 2021 State of the Phish Report  from Proofpoint, the majority (92%) of UK organisations required or  requested that most employees work from home due to the pandemic, which presented its fair share of teething problems, some of which organisations are still experiencing to this day. Organisational preparedness for remote working is not great and employees were not well-equipped to work remotely. In response, many organisations increased security awareness training and many organisations offered training on how to stay safe while working remotely.

While implementation of additional training is certainly good news, it should not take a global health crisis for organisations to prioritize security awareness.

To be effective, cybersecurity training must take place regularly, continually adapting to address the threats of the moment. It must be a central part of an organization’s security program, all year round. In the first half of 2020 cyber criminals took advantage of the heightened interest surrounding the pandemic, resulting in a flood to phishing email  unlike anything Proofpoint researchers research team has ever seen. While the tactics changed throughout the year, the target remained the same. Some offered cures, others promised speedy tests and priority access to vaccines. Many encouraged victims to hand over valuable credentials.

An appetite for the latest COVID-19 developments was just one factor fueling the phishing fire. Cyber criminals also struck at a time of significant disruption and distraction. 

Many organisations, recognising the elevated risk, conducted COVID-specific security awareness training. Results were good in test conditions too. Average failure rates for the most frequently used COVID-related lures ranged from less than 1% to around 20%. However, awareness is not quite enough. Security best practice behavior only really changes when employees are embedded in the program. For example, an employee receiving a notification to confirm that the potential phishing email they reported was in fact malicious, helps to drive and incentivise a security-first culture, however, this level of training is rare.

Only 64% of organisations conduct formal training sessions, either virtually or in person. For almost two-thirds, training of any sort takes place no more than four times a year. And 36% only train users in certain roles or departments.

Failure to equip employees with the knowledge to detect and deter such attacks is negligent and the response to COVID-related phishing attacks has shown that relevant, targeted, and in-context security awareness training works. Rather than reverting to type once the pandemic subsides, organisations must use this experience to implement long-term training programs that actively seek to change risky behaviors. Programs that focus on the individual and adapt to current, real-world threats.

This is only possible by placing users at the heart of your defence. They are often the only thing standing between the success and failure of an attack. The level of training they receive needs to reflect these high stakes.

Security awareness training must go beyond jargon, definitions of common threats, and multiple-choice tests. It must leave users in no doubt about their responsibilities and the consequences of failing to uphold them. When you deliver this comprehensive, people-centric training regularly, you create a security culture. A culture in which your people understand how simple behaviors can put your organisation at risk. In which all users know how to prevent, detect and deter cyber-attacks and in which best practice becomes standard practice.

The executive business decision-makers are important stakeholders in your organisation, but for security awareness training, users are the most important stakeholders. 

User engagement is critical if you want to make security a core part of your organisation’s culture, making sure that your workforce is aware of the basic cyber security behaviors is also critically important in this new environment. Organisations must have a culture of data security and data privacy and employees need to understand that they are the caretakers of their own organisation’s valuable and often sensitive data, much of which also consists of customer information.

Business need cyber security training and we at Cyber Security Intelligence recommend GoCyber training for all employees and management – it is excellent – please contact us for a free trial.

Proofpoint:   NCSC:   Infosecurity Magazine:   NCSC:       Infosecurity Magazine:     Action Fraud:    Image: Unsplash

You Might Also Read: 

How Has A Year Of Pandemic Changed Cyber Security?:

 

« The European Union Adopts A Cyber Security Strategy
The Satanic Mills of the Fourth Industrial Revolution »

ManageEngine
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Check Point

Directory of Suppliers

Tines

Tines

The Tines security automation platform helps security teams automate manual tasks, making them more effective and efficient.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Our Supplier Directory lists 8,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

Logically Secure

Logically Secure

Logically Secure provide penetration testing and security assessment services.

Segusoft

Segusoft

With its encryption platform SEGULINK, Segusoft provides standard software for companies to securely transfer files and messages.

DataProtect

DataProtect

DataProtect is a specialized information security company providing consultancy, information management, integration and training services.

Dathena

Dathena

Dathena is a company developing data governance software based on machine learning algorithms.

Global Lifecycle Solutions EMEA (Global EMEA)

Global Lifecycle Solutions EMEA (Global EMEA)

Global EMEA provides full lifecycle services to corporate Clients covering procurement, configuration, support, maintenance and end-of-life asset management.

National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) - USA

National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) - USA

National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association is the leading national organization focused exclusively on the fight against health care fraud.

US Venture Partners (USVP)

US Venture Partners (USVP)

USVP is a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm focusing on early-stage start-ups that transform cybersecurity, enterprise software, consumer mobile and e-commerce, and healthcare.

Norwest Venture Partners (NVP)

Norwest Venture Partners (NVP)

Norwest Venture Partners offer entrepreneurs a broad range of services to help them build their businesses at every stage of growth. Key sectors include AI, Infrastructure, SaaS and Security.

YL Ventures

YL Ventures

YL Ventures funds and supports brilliant Israeli tech entrepreneurs from seed to lead.

YesWeHack

YesWeHack

YesWeHack offers companies an innovative approach to cybersecurity with Bug Bounty (pay-per-vulnerability discovered) to identify and report vulnerabilities in their systems.

Systems Assessment Bureau (SAB)

Systems Assessment Bureau (SAB)

Systems Assessment Bureau is an internationally recognized ISO Certification Body with a unique vision of “Excel together with global standards”.

Eureka Technology Partners

Eureka Technology Partners

Eureka Technology Partners are committed to helping you focus on your business by taking care of your IT infrastructure and data security needs.

Zemana

Zemana

Zemana provides innovative cyber-security solutions to deal with complex malicious software and other cyber threats.

Ostra Cybersecurity

Ostra Cybersecurity

As a next-generation MSSP, Ostra Cybersecurity combines best-in-class tools, proprietary technology and exceptional talent to deliver Fortune 100-level protection for businesses of all sizes.

Vali Cyber

Vali Cyber

Vali Cyber was founded in 2020 with the mission of addressing the specific cybersecurity needs of Linux.

Blattner Technologies

Blattner Technologies

Blattner Technologies mission is to be the leading provider of predictive transformation services and tools in the Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning industry.