Are you already investing in the professional development of your staff, giving them training so they can expand their knowledge and help your business grow as a result? The answer is likely yes, because giving your staff the tools for success will only help your business in the long run!
Do you pay the same amount of attention to training them in cyber security, to protect your business from being subject to a cyber-attack? If not, why not?
As methods of carrying out cybercrime become more and more sophisticated, it’s becoming harder for humans to determine whether or not an email or a link to a web page is real. With the pandemic offering hackers a golden opportunity to exploit weaknesses in business security, now is a great time to be thinking about making everyone in your business aware of the risks.
Here are 9 ways to get your staff on board with cyber security.
#1 Don’t keep it to yourself
Sharing information is a great way to educate staff. Has another member of your team received an email pretending to be you and asking for money to be transferred? Send a whole-office email highlighting the scam, and letting people know how they should be dealing with written requests for money transfers – use it as a learning opportunity!
#2 Relate it to them
For someone who doesn’t know much about cyber security, it can seem a bit of an abstract concept. Talk about how your business data is linked to their personal data, and how a hack could breach their own. Learning about cyber security within a business, also applies personally – so it’s a great thing to learn for their own sake.
#3 Set a good example
- Never share your passwords
- Make sure you take part in cyber security training too
People are much more likely to be on board with changes, or things that might initially seem like a bit of an inconvenience (like multi-factor authentication) if they see you living with them, too.
#4 Write your cyber security policy in plain English
Make sure it’s clear exactly what’s acceptable, and what to do if someone does notice a data breach. Having a 3000 page document might seem like the right thing to do, but if it’s unreadable then no-one is going to look at it!
#5 Make it a part of your onboarding process
It’s easy to develop habits and a way of working quite quickly, so strike while the iron is hot, and make cyber security training a priority for any new team members in their induction period.
#6 Provide regular updates
The cyber security landscape is constantly changing, with new threats being developed all the time. Set time in the diary to go through anything new, and make it a priority so everyone’s knowledge is up-to-date and on the same page.
#7 Keep it simple
There is nothing wrong with starting with the basics. Yes, some people are likely to be more informed than others, but it won’t hurt them to have a refresher. This means you know that everyone genuinely does understand the simple framework for good business security, and you can build in more complexity if needed from there.
#8 Set some practice runs!
A fire drill for cyber security, if you will. Carrying out fake hacks can help you identify any weak spots in knowledge or security processes to help your entire business feel more prepared for the real thing.
#9 Make it fun!
You might think this one sounds childish, but by offering a small prize in a monthly competition, you’ll not only be making people smile while putting cyber security front and centre as a priority, you’ll also be keeping it in everyone’s consciousness – it won’t just be one check box exercise training session and then forgotten about.
If you’d like us to take a look at your current security setup and suggest ways you can improve it, or discuss cyber security training for your business – please get in touch. Just book a call with us below.
