Want to outsmart cybercriminals? Turn your staff into the strongest link in your cybersecurity

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Research shows that 95 percent of all cybersecurity incidents involve human error. This is one of the reasons that humans are often seen as the weakest link in any organization’s cybersecurity. But with the right tools and knowledge, people are actually the strongest link! Your employees have the power to help stop cybercriminals and minimize the chances of a cyberattack. To do that, however, their cyber awareness must be up to par, and an open organizational culture must be created. Read our blog to discover how you turn your staff into the strongest link of your cybersecurity.

People are usually portrayed as the weakest link in your cybersecurity. The statistics don’t lie: companies operate in a world where not only 95 percent of all cybersecurity incidents involve human error; threats from inside organizations (intentional or accidental) also account for 43 percent of all data breaches.

These statistics make it easy to blame us humans (and thus your colleagues and employees) for cybercrimes. But we think your colleagues are not to blame. After all, humans naturally exhibit certain behaviors that cybercriminals use to their advantage by manipulating and abusing your colleagues.

Therefore, it is important to set up your IT infrastructure to overcome the weakness of human behavior. You will create the space to deploy humans as the most important link in your cybersecurity. How? By improving employee awareness and creating an open culture.

Creating cybersecurity awareness

Turning your employees into the strongest link of your cybersecurity starts with awareness. As mentioned above, people’s behavior can compromise your IT infrastructure’s security. Preventing your staff from paving the way for cybercriminals requires basic knowledge.

Your employees may be able to achieve this basic level with a one-time training, but they won’t maintain it – and maintenance of their knowledge is vital. Continuous training will ensure cybersecurity is always on top of your employees’ minds.

You can train staff continuously by repeatedly showing small chunks of information on digital signage screens in high-traffic areas of your buildings. Or, for remote or field workers, you can repeat training on their smartphones through a Mobile App or the Screensavers on their laptops.

Cybersecurity templates for continuous training

To take some work off your hands, we’ve created a Cybersecurity Template Pack with as many as 45 tips. It will help and allow you to train your employees on how to keep your organization cyber-safe.

Cybercriminals are constantly professionalizing, which means their entrances into organizations are constantly changing. Therefore, it is also important to keep updating employees’ knowledge. Another reason to train staff on an ongoing basis!

We recently updated our Cybersecurity Template Pack, so you can bring to your staff’s attention the latest methods that cybercriminals use to operate (and especially what employees can do to prevent a cyberattack).

Create an open culture of awareness

In addition to a basic level of knowledge about cybersecurity and prevention, it is also important that your organization develops an open culture of awareness. Knowledge and vigilance must be deeply rooted n the corporate culture to reduce the risk of cyberattacks.

However – if one of your colleagues does come across something that’s off or something has gone wrong while working, employees must be confident enough to report it. Make sure they know that things can go wrong and people sometimes – by accident – open the wrong link or e-mail. They have to know they can and should report this to their colleagues responsible for your organization’s digital security.

To be able to report issues, they must also know who to contact when they find something out of the ordinary. You can help them by including the right names, numbers, and e-mail addresses on your employee communication platform. By repeating them constantly, your staff will immediately and always know where to go.

Reward and emphasize desired behavior

In addition, reward colleagues who report issues and spotlight them on your digital signage screens or your intranet. This way, people know what the desired behavior is. Show your staff that colleagues are paying attention and highlight what could have happened or what they prevented by reporting something out of the usual.

Link the examples to the company, and the position people work in – that way, people can imagine better what can go wrong during an ordinary workday and why it’s so important to always be alert. You can never reduce the danger to zero, but with vivid examples that people can relate to, you can minimize it.

Do you want to improve your organization’s digital security? Download our Cybersecurity Template Pack or our Cybersecurity Checklist. Want personal help and advice on how to turn your staff into the strongest link of your cybersecurity? Get in touch with one of our consultants or schedule a free 30-minute demo to see our platform and Template pack in action.