Providing your employees with the power to identify commonplace cyber threats can greatly enhance your organization’s computer security. Through security awareness training, employees acquire the knowledge to comprehend vulnerabilities and threats that may impact business operations. It is essential for your employees to acknowledge their duties and obligations while utilizing a computer on a corporate network.
Your organization should set up both initial training for new employees and regular refresher courses to foster a data security culture. The training for employees must encompass various aspects, among which are:
Responsibility for Company Data
It is important to consistently stress the importance of data security and the duty of every employee to safeguard company data. Both you and your employees have legal and regulatory duties to uphold and ensure the privacy, integrity, and confidentiality of information.
Document Management and Notification Procedures
It is important to provide employees with proper education regarding the procedure for reporting data incidents. This knowledge is crucial in situations where an employee’s computer is either infected with a virus or functioning abnormally, such as encountering unexplained errors, slower performance, or changes in desktop settings. Employees should be trained to identify genuine warning messages or alerts and promptly report the incident. This will enable the IT team to promptly address and investigate the threat.
Passwords
Ensure that your employees receive training on selecting robust passwords that are both difficult to guess and simple to recall. Additionally, it is important to avoid writing down passwords and instead focus on creating memorable ones. Implement a system within your company that sends regular automated reminders to employees, prompting them to update their passwords.
Unauthorized Software
Ensure that your employees understand that they must not install any unlicensed software on company computers. The installation of unlicensed software may expose your company to potential downloads of malicious software, which can compromise and damage your data.
Internet Use
Instruct your employees to refrain from clicking on email or online links that seem suspicious or originate from unfamiliar sources to prevent the potential release of malicious software, computer infections, and theft of company data. Additionally, it is essential for your company to set up guidelines for safe browsing practices and restrict employee internet usage at the workplace.
Responsible email usage serves as the most effective protection against data theft. It is essential to ensure that employees are cautious about scams and refrain from responding to unfamiliar emails. Educating your employees to only accept emails from trusted sources is crucial in preventing unauthorized access.
- Comes from someone they know.
- Comes from someone they have received mail from before.
- Is something they were expecting.
- Does not look odd with unusual spellings or characters.
- Passes your anti-virus program test.
Social Engineering and Phishing
Make sure your employees undergo training to identify typical cybercrime and information security risks, such as social engineering, online fraud, phishing, and web-browsing risks.
Social Media Policy
Make sure to provide your employees with education on social media and, at the very least, inform them about your company’s policy and guidelines regarding the registration, posting, and receiving of social media using their company email addresses.
Mobile Devices
Inform your employees about the mobile device policy that applies to both company-owned and personally owned devices used for business purposes.
Protecting Computer Resources
Ensure that your employees receive training on protecting their computers against theft by either locking them or storing them in a secure location. It is important to regularly back up critical information, with backup copies stored in a secure place. Every employee is accountable for installing the latest updates for virus protection software on the company’s PCs.
Top Cybersecurity Training Tools for Employees
KnowBe4: Best Overall
According to Wall Street analysts, KnowBe4 is a leading player in its field, currently earning $400 million in yearly revenue and expected to experience an impressive 78% annual growth over the next 5 years. Unlike other companies that specialize in security applications, KnowBe4 primarily focuses on security awareness training. KnowBe4 provides a range of services including baseline testing to assess an organization’s susceptibility to phishing, a vast collection of interactive network security awareness training content, automated training campaigns, simulated phishing attacks, and a user behavior monitoring system to track progress.
KnowBe4 provides four pricing tiers for potential buyers, which are based on the number of seats required annually. The rates are flexible and increase according to the total number of seats in a class. Each tier provides additional security training features corresponding to its higher price. Furthermore, there are three optional add-ons that can be purchased by users from any tier, and their prices also vary according to the total number of seats in a class.
Proofpoint: Best For Customization
In 2019, Proofpoint acquired its security training technology from Wombat. The Proofpoint Security Awareness Training enables organizations to effectively provide targeted education to individuals based on their roles, competencies, and vulnerabilities within the company. Proofpoint delivers this education in concise modules to facilitate lasting behavioral changes among users. Additionally, the company offers various other forms of security training such as email security, threat protection, and cloud security tools.
Proofpoint includes the cost of its training in the Proofpoint Essentials service. Users who subscribe to this service can obtain the security awareness training for $1.10 per active user each month. Additionally, there is an option to access a complimentary trial for the company’s training service.
Ninjio: Best For Multilingual Teams
Ninjio employs concise, animated videos that effectively grab trainees’ focus by emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity. These videos are typically three to four minutes in duration, and they consistently produce fresh ones on a monthly basis. By illustrating scenarios inspired by actual companies that have experienced security breaches, the training provides guidance on handling similar situations that employees may come across. Additionally, the inclusion of a gamified leaderboard fosters active participation and maintains employee involvement. The feedback from users has been overwhelmingly favorable.
Those who are interested in purchasing should get in touch with Ninjio to inquire about pricing details.
ESET: Best For Gamification
ESET cybersecurity training offers flexible training that enables employees to learn at their own pace and revisit courses whenever they require a review. Instead of encompassing all aspects of cybersecurity, the courses concentrate on the specific challenges that employees are highly likely to encounter, such as phishing, credential theft, and social engineering. While a free option exists to provide remote employees with fundamental knowledge and recommended practices, an upgrade is necessary for access to gamification, email reminders, and a phishing simulator.
ESET provides security awareness training in two options: a complimentary 60-minute basic course, and a 90-minute premium course that requires payment. The premium course includes extra benefits such as gamification, a phishing simulator, and automatic email reminders. Pricing for the premium course begins at $250 for training 10 employees, with a maximum cost of $1625 for training 100 employees, increasing accordingly to the number of employees.
Lucy: Best For European Businesses
Lucy’s main focus is on the European market, but it has been experiencing steady growth and has successfully set up a U.S. office. It comprises a range of modules designed to evaluate, educate, and involve employees, while also examining the infrastructure for vulnerabilities. In addition to addressing phishing attacks, it provides users with knowledge on ransomware, portable media attacks, malware simulations, file-based attacks, and spoofing attacks through realistic simulations.
Lucy provides three tiers of training service at present, however, customers who are interested in acquiring the service must directly reach out to the company for pricing information.
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