In this blog article, we discuss the importance of cybersecurity awareness and how it helps to prevent vulnerable links in the organization.
The human factor remains a vulnerable link when it comes to information security. After all, cyber criminals must somehow infiltrate the organization, and this often happens through one of the employees within the organization.
Therefore, it is of paramount importance that employees are aware of cybercrime and the importance of the cybersecurity measures that the organization implements for it. We will tell you exactly how this works in this blog article.
The importance of cybersecurity awareness
By making the organization's employees aware of the risks of cybercrime, you prevent a major cybersecurity bottleneck. Because, complying with cybersecurity measures can in some cases be at the expense of user-friendliness. Just think of MFA (multi factor authentication) where users have to perform an extra action to log in or wait for the installation of (security) updates for the workstations.
When employees know what the dangers of cybercrime are and how cybercriminals infiltrate organizations, they will have more understanding for complying with the cybersecurity measures the organization takes. In addition, they will also make smarter choices when it comes to safety (for example by not using the same password on multiple systems).
Moreover, this is also something that comes back in private life, because phishing emails and SMS messages naturally come in on your private as well as on your business email and phone number.
Awareness requires repetition
Awareness in the field of cybersecurity is not something you can dismiss with a one-time action, after which you return to business as usual. The content and lessons of a one-time training are largely forgotten after a few months. Moreover, both cyber criminals and cybersecurity best practices continue to evolve, so it is important that the knowledge of the employees remains up to date.
From awareness to behavior change
We often talk about awareness, but the ultimate goal is of course behavior change. We want to achieve that employees act safely, from the moment they enter the organization until they leave the organization and even after that. This requires a thorough approach.
When onboarding new employees, it is important that awareness in the field of cybersecurity becomes part of the onboarding process. This is the first step in giving new employees the knowledge to work securely. The obligation to ensure the confidentiality of data should also be stipulated in the employment contract of every employee, so that you have created the right legal basis for action.
In addition to this, arrange regular training sessions and organize awareness campaigns through internal communication tools such as posters or newsletters. Finally, you can also set staff objectives for cybersecurity awareness and hold managers or team leaders responsible for this.
Conclusion
The power of repetition helps to actually achieve the desired behavior change. Even in offboarding, it is important to specifically point out to employees the ongoing obligations they have in the area of confidentiality, and about the obligation to hand over all company information they have at their disposal.
Do you want to know more about our comprehensive approach? Then get in touch with Simac Cyber Security.
