With the continuous progress of cybersecurity tools, employees still pose as the vulnerable point in the digital defense of organizations. Thankfully, the increase in both quantity and complexity of cybersecurity awareness training programs has improved businesses’ ability to prevent a severe cyberattack resulting from a single phishing email or malicious link.
What Are Important Security Training Product Features?
In this particular industry, the vendors display a wide range of diversity. Certain vendors primarily concentrate on educating users, while others who initially developed security tools have ventured into the field of training as well.
Employee security training includes key features from the perspective of ensuring the safety of employees.
- Varied training, not one size fits all
- Engaging, educational content that helps employees really understand the cybersecurity essentials
- Simulated phishing capabilities, smishing, vishing
- Single platform as opposed to a few features cobbled together
- Low administrative overhead and no jumping from screen to screen
- Library of training and phishing content
- Ability to customize
- Real brand logos used for phishing
- Multiple languages
- Randomization of phishing campaigns
- Reporting
- Security assessments
How Do You Choose the Right Cybersecurity Training Course?
Anyone who is evaluating their options for security awareness training should take the following into consideration:
- How is user management handled? Is it a manual process? You want to assess the ease of administration of whatever vendor you choose. If there are multiple systems or consoles, be sure to ask the degree of integration between those systems
- The volume and quality of training content provided. How important is it to your organization to have an ongoing campaign with fresh content? A small training library means stale and infrequent training. And content needs to be engaging, so try it for yourself to get a feel for the vendor’s approach.
- Availability of localized training, phishing content, and international/multilingual content to sustain frequent training.
- Is the vendor dedicated to security awareness training as its core focus, or is it an add-on to a wide variety of products that are bundled as integrated?
- What does customer support look like and how well is it reviewed?
- Find out how many capabilities come with the subscription level, what functionality is included versus what requires managed services and extra fees.
- What reporting and support features are included with the subscription?
- Is customized and branded training content important? If so, check to see if branding capabilities are in the platform.
Phishing and Ransomware are Top Employee Security Concerns
Most security awareness training initiatives primarily target phishing due to its significant contribution to breaches. Users inadvertently allow malicious individuals to infiltrate their systems by falling for deceptive attachments or URLs. The continuous risk posed by neglectful end users has also brought attention to additional solutions such as secure email gateways.
Email has proven to be both a blessing and a curse as a productivity tool, with 89% of malware now originating from it, according to HP Wolf Security. This signifies that while web and browser security are getting better, email continues to be the primary issue.
The most common attacks that workers often fall for are “phishing, spear-phishing, and/or whaling.”
It is important to bear in mind that phishing incidents can occur not only through email link clicks, but also through social media interactions and even phone conversations. Additionally, he emphasized that individuals are still opening attachments received from unknown sources.
Social engineering is the act of deceiving victims, typically through email or phone calls, in order to gain unauthorized access to protected information or systems, often by employing spoofing techniques. In situations where scammers specifically target important individuals of high value, such as spear-phishing or whaling scenarios, a significant amount of time and effort may be dedicated to ensuring victims are successfully fooled.
Cyber attackers frequently rely on tactics that involve manipulating individuals with a sense of urgency, thereby compelling them to hastily make errors. For instance, this could involve an attacker making a phone call, pretending to be the IRS and claiming that your taxes are overdue, coercing you to immediately settle the payment. Similarly, attackers may pose as your superior and send urgent emails that deceive you into making mistakes.
According to research conducted by Cofense, which hosts the PhishMe simulation program, employees tend to become less cautious when there is money at stake. Monetary transactions, being a highly emotional subject, evoke powerful reactions in all these scenarios.
Ransomware is a term used to describe a form of malware where certain attackers prioritize holding a victim’s files hostage by encrypting them, rather than stealing valuable information. In exchange for the encryption key necessary to restore access to the files, these attackers demand a ransom.
An IDC survey revealed that ransomware affected around 37 percent of worldwide organizations in 2021.
Ransomware and phishing remain the top choices for attackers when it comes to deceiving users, and additionally, ransomware attacks are frequently preferred by attackers due to their higher profitability.
Having good data protection practices, such as consistently keeping reliable backups, can reduce the impact of ransomware from being a financially damaging cybersecurity incident to merely an inconvenience. However, IT security teams and administrators will still face challenges in cleaning and securing affected systems.
Top 10 Free Cybersecurity Training for Employees
Presented below are the ten leading cybersecurity training courses designed to increase employee awareness regarding cyber threats and attacks. Through these courses, your teams will gain the necessary knowledge to identify, prevent, and mitigate such risks effectively.
1. Cyber Security
EdApp’s cybersecurity training course for employees highlights the significance of cybersecurity, raising awareness about the expenses associated with cyberattacks. It encompasses various categories of cyber threats, such as ransomware, malware, social engineering, and man-in-the-middle attacks. Moreover, it offers practical instances of infiltrations and instructs individuals on how to detect them and respond appropriately. For instance, it teaches safe email usage by cautioning against spam communications and advising against clicking on suspicious links or attachments.
This security training course is divided into eight small lessons, making it easy to understand without much effort. Like any course designed with microlearning, information is presented in short bursts that are known to be effective in retaining important knowledge. Additionally, this course is accessible on a mobile-friendly platform, allowing employees to complete it at their convenience while on the move.
No charge.
The scope includes various types of cyberattacks, safety practices, and the development of a document management strategy.
2. Be A Scam Scanner
EdApp’s course equips your employees with an understanding of various cyber scams and attacks, as well as the necessary skills to minimize their impact. It offers insights into the origins of scams and includes illustrations of prevalent online scams, ranging from prize scams to counterfeit products and romantic frauds. Upon completion, your teams will possess the expertise of identifying scams and safeguarding your business.
You have the option to either quickly deploy this cybersecurity training for employees as is, or customize it completely. This allows you to incorporate your branding and add content that is most applicable to your needs. EdApp also offers a convenient tool for tracking completion and monitoring progress with an employee training tracker, making it simple to identify those who have completed their training.
Cost: Free
The scope includes the various types of scams, as well as identifying and mitigating scams.
3. Cyber Security Awareness
The course by EdApp emphasizes the significance of ongoing learning to keep employees well-informed about cybersecurity awareness, taking into account the rapid evolution of technology. It is specifically designed to provide individuals and organizations with an updated guide on protecting against cyber threats and attacks. The course focuses on identifying prevalent vulnerabilities, including SQL injection, session impersonation, and cross-site scripting attacks. Additionally, it offers methods to safeguard systems against these vulnerabilities that can be easily exploited.
Cybersecurity, being a serious matter involving critical information, can still be an enjoyable and interactive learning experience. EdApp offers various gamification templates, including the Find-a-word template similar to a word search game, and the jeopardy game inspired by the popular TV show.
Price: No charge.
Scope: Protection of systems against injection attacks and cross-site scripting (XSS).
4. Cybersecurity Basics
This cybersecurity training is designed to provide employees with the necessary foundation to start understanding data privacy. To prepare you for the current landscape, it covers the origins of cybersecurity and the various motives behind cyberattacks. Moreover, it enhances your understanding by offering a concise overview of different forms of unauthorized attacks and the tools available for defense. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to define fundamental terminology and concepts related to cybersecurity. Additionally, it offers best practices and additional resources for those interested in expanding their knowledge beyond this course. This training is offered free of charge and can be completed at your own pace, with a duration of 4 weeks.
There is no cost involved.
The scope encompasses the history of cybersecurity, various types of cyberattacks, and essential security tools.
5. Improve Your Online Business Security
This course emphasizes the importance of prioritizing privacy and security within an organization. Utilizing video-based training, it addresses the training of employees in online security and provides guidance on securing their devices, as well as the software, networks, and cloud security systems they utilize in their work, in order to prevent any compromise. Furthermore, it encompasses the creation of a secure online experience for customers, who are vital to any business. Although the course is offered at no cost, its duration of one hour could potentially impact completion rates, particularly for employees with a limited attention span.
The cost is zero.
The scope includes online security measures for devices, networks, systems, and software to ensure their protection.
Bottomline: Choosing the Best Employee Cybersecurity Training Service
It can be challenging to find the perfect cybersecurity training service, but there are certain considerations that can assist in making the right choice.
Ensure that the service offers flexibility, incorporating customizability and a diverse range of training routines to ensure that it can be customized to meet the specific needs of your organization.
It’s important to be vigilant and search for services that offer comprehensive training in dealing with phishing. Good cybersecurity training can effectively postpone or completely prevent the significant threat that phishing poses. If a service fails to give high priority to addressing phishing, it may not be advisable to invest in it.
To ensure the safety of your organization, it is crucial to commence employee training promptly when you have appropriate training solutions. As soon as a new employee joins your company, they may become a target of a phishing attack aimed at stealing their access credentials. By introducing cybersecurity awareness training early on and on a regular basis, you enhance your ability to safeguard your organization.
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