Train your Staff on These Four Security Strategies

Are you one of the countless people who find themselves performing repetitive tasks like moving files around, working with people on the phone, navigating email, or updating information? It’s easy to find yourself in a situation where one wrong click can create a plethora of issues, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of network security.

Global statistics can provide key insights into how simple steps can be taken to augment network security. According to the Internet Society’s Online Trust Alliance (OTA), 2018 saw losses exceeding $45 billion as a result of cyberattacks. Of that $45 billion, about 95 percent of it could have been prevented by taking simple steps. These numbers are only expected to get worse over time.

To keep your business from becoming a part of this statistic, we recommend that you take multiple measures beyond having a dedicated network and cybersecurity strategy; you also need to train your staff to understand the importance of this crucial component of security. This month we want to focus on some strategies that you can use to take action and get your staff on the same page.

Get Them to Relate

Let’s face it; network security isn’t exactly the most thrilling topic to discuss at the next staff meeting, especially for young people who don’t work in security. Therefore, it’s imperative that you get them to relate to victims of cybersecurity issues. Naturally they don’t want to be responsible for the frustrations of someone else, so this approach is more likely to yield results. You can use real-world examples in your training. More likely than not, this will give them the perspective they need to prevent negligent behavior moving forward. If you show them what they can do to protect the company, they are in turn protecting their own data.

Always Promote Security

If nothing else, people are impressionable and tend to adopt what is in their surroundings. If they are always seeing a particular message, then they will accept that message. This is one way to build a company culture that focuses on security. If you are always encouraging users to stick to secure practices, you can be confident that most of your staff will fall in line.

Regular Security Training

In addition to pushing security as much as possible, you should also train your employees on the policies and procedures which your business expects of them. Employees must understand the following:

• How to avoid becoming a victim of phishing
• What network resources they have access to
• The importance their role has in protecting company and customer data
• Solid password management and best practices
• What to do if they do make a security mistake

As long as each employee can grasp the above concepts, your chances of experiencing a security breach should be significantly diminished.

Be a Security Mentor

Most employees will not default to thinking about network security. If they follow established security procedures, it should not be a problem, but the issue is that many employees don’t picture security as their problem, but one for management or C-suite executives. This is largely because solutions like firewalls, antivirus, multi-factor authentication, mobile device management, and intrusion detection are all systems that, similar to digital surveillance, access control, printer management, and other security systems are managed by others with greater technological expertise. Some employees even look at the above systems as solutions that protect the business from staff rather than those that work to protect from external threats.

Acting as a security mentor means that you are supporting the organization’s mission to remain secure rather than demanding that people fall in line. Those who are not well-versed in technology often have trouble adopting new solutions, so it’s your responsibility to remedy this by providing adequate support in the form of training, documentation, and resources that can help them understand its importance. They don’t need to be experts; they just need to know enough to avoid major errors.

Washington Works can help your business create a security plan that integrates technology solutions with proactive employee training. We can also provide your organization with resources needed to remain secure. Get started with a call at 301-571-5040.