Why Cyber Security Training Is So Important in Today’s World
Cyber threats are a serious problem that is only getting worse. There is an unfortunately large number of people in the world that enjoy causing problems for companies and individuals. They steal personal information, passwords, infect computers and networks with malware and cause a host of other problems. In 2016, it was estimated that the cost of these types of attacks to the U.S alone was between $57 billion and $109 billion.
These threats are serious problems for companies of all sizes, and they can cause a serious amount of damage in a short amount of time. Therefore, cyber security training is easily one of the best investments that any company can and should make. The HR department and the IT team should work together to develop a training and security plan for the company. Let’s look at how this type of training can help your company today and going forward.
The Prevention of Attacks
Naturally, one of the most important aspects of having everyone at the company go through cyber security training is because it is able to help prevent attacks and breaches at the company. People will have more knowledge and understanding of how these attacks work, the types of things they should be looking for and wary of, and they will know how to respond. This can help to reduce the risks for your company, but it is important to offer ongoing training, not only training when onboarding employees.
Influence the Culture of the Company
HR professionals know that all companies have and develop a company culture. By incorporating cyber security training into the company on a regular basis, the ideas and ideals of improved security become a part of the company culture. It becomes second nature for the employees.
It can help to foster a culture of security within the company, and people often become more proactive about cyber defense. An unintended consequence of this is that people will often carry this security-minded behavior over to their personal lives, which ultimately keeps them safer with their personal information at home and on their personal devices.
Use of Personal Devices
Today, there are many people who are using their own personal devices at work and for their work. They might be remote workers who have their own computers, phones, and tablets that they are using, or your company might have even encouraged in-house employees to use their own phones and tablets.
The concept of bringing your own device can cut down on company costs, but it could end up putting the company more at risk. It tends to be a better idea to have company devices, which will have security features provided by the IT team. It might also be possible to have these features installed on peoples’ personal devices, but many people do not want the company’s security features on their phones, laptops, or tables. A part of cyber security training will be ensuring that the employees understand how to safely use their devices, whether they are personal or provided by the company itself. Ultimately, the company needs to determine the best course of action for their own cyber security.
Keep the Trust of the Customers and Clients
When you have a team of employees that have been trained in cyber security protocols, it will mean that there is less risk of an attack, as mentioned above. This translates into greater trust from your clients and customers. You can let people know that you have security measures in place and that your staff is trained well in cyber security. This can foster some additional trust, but you need to be able to back that up. One breach could be all it takes to lose a large part of your customer base.
Compliance with Regulations
Many different industries have regulations that need to be followed in order to be in compliance with the law. HIPAA is a common example of this, and all employees need to be trained not only on the regulations for physical HIPAA requirements for patient security but also cyber security. Training ensures that your employees have the knowledge they need to remain in compliance and to keep your business, your data, and your clients safe.
Safety for Employee Information
Another one of the benefits of having cyber security training is that it can help the HR department to learn how to best keep employee information safe. When a hacker attacks a company, they are not always looking for information on the customers and clients. Sometimes, they are looking into employee records. They could get Social Security Numbers, information about where a person lives, banking information, and more. This could be just as damaging as having your customers’ information taken, and it will surely cause some employees to start looking for a new job.
Threats Continue to Evolve
There is no simple solution for cyber security that will keep your company safe for the rest of its existence. Cyber attacks continue to change and evolve over time, which means that cyber security training needs to be ongoing, and both the HR department and the IT department need to be proactive and find ways that they can combat these threats and keep their company safe. Cyber security training cannot be a “one and done” type of training. It needs to continue, and everyone in the company should have training.
Create a Cyber Security Training System Now
HR professionals need to work with the IT department to create a system of cyber security in the workspace. Software training is a great way to ensure that you have a team of employees that is on board with and understands the needs for cyber security, especially when you also combine it with in-person training by your IT professionals. Cyber security training is not something that you want to put off because you don’t think an attack could ever happen to your company. It is often just a matter of time no matter how large or small the company might be. Don’t forget to get your free eLeaP sandbox account to monitor your cyber security training.
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