How To Create An Effective Cybersecurity Employee Training Program

Your employees maybe your greatest security risk factor or defence, depending on their familiarity with cybersecurity. Today’s most serious cyber security threats rely heavily on victims’ participation, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Training your employees on common social engineering tricks as well as other risky traps they may encounter, such as scam links and emails, can significantly improve your chances of avoiding threats. But how do you go about implementing an effective training program?

Determine Your Training Requirements

Conducting a mini-study on the current training needs aids in the development of a customized, impactful training program. Your IT team may ask questions and research previous threat report cases, such as the number of emails opened, ignored and reported. You can also look at the criteria that employees use to decide which email links to interact with. You should also consider industry-specific cybersecurity requirements and risk factors specific to your infrastructure. Healthcare and finance firms, for example, should place a greater emphasis on compliance.

Implementation of Strategic Plans

The second phase should consist of implementing training sessions based on your findings from the previous section. Training should be implemented as conveniently as possible to avoid disrupting workflow or eating into employees’ free time. A session of 30 minutes or less can be sufficient for most participants to pay consistent attention and retain interest. To make the training more entertaining, use a variety of presentation formats such as text, videos, and audio. Depending on the needs of your team, you can have 1 to 3 sessions per month.

Administer Tests

Frequent tests can help you assess the effectiveness of your training and adjust it as needed. You can, for example, test your team’s ability to identify phishing attempts or scammy emails that have been reassembled from actual companies’ emails. Testing also helps sharpen your team’s skills in dealing with common cyber threats and keeps them aware of their prevalence. Employees get exposed to various social engineering tactics as they evolve, equipping them with the know-how to deal with new threats.

Key Takeaways:

• Continuous training should be mandated as new hacking techniques emerge and hackers learn to breach older defences.
• Keep the training relevant to your company’s needs; for example, healthcare organizations should hold HIPAA compliance sessions.
• Short training sessions ensure continuous productivity, keep things interesting until the end, and are more memorable.
• Continuous testing aids in gauging team progress and identifying training gaps.
• Ensure that your employees understand and appreciate the importance of cybersecurity training.
• Consider team members’ suggestions for ways to improve training.
• Use a variety of formats, including formal and informal training materials.

Conclusion

A repetitive duty accustoms employees to such quick action habits that they may miss a well-planned attack. Some employees are even unaware of the cybersecurity threats they may be exposed to daily. Education is the most reliable security measure in the modern workplace, as remote working opens the door to a plethora of other risks that brand administrators may be unaware of. Even when using remote devices on unsecured networks, skilled employees can maintain their safety. Training keeps your team motivated and confident, resulting in higher productivity.