Security Awareness Training Explained

 

In short, security awareness training stands for the educational process provided in-house or by third-party companies such as we-IT. The main objective of this training is to inform the employees about the threats online and to create an effective learning experience for them, which leads to better awareness and fewer risks to the security posture of the company.

What should training content include?

 

The training materials vary greatly between different providers. The majority of security awareness courses online offer dry educational content, which does not help in cyber crime prevention and risk mitigation. In order to make security training worthwhile for the company and the employees, you need a course that provides practical knowledge that prepares the end-users to act upon new threats as they occur. Online training modules should be customized to the business and the threats commonly faced in your specific sector. Simulated attacks are also a crucial part of the learning process that put the knowledge into practice before the employee gets exposed to cyber crime in real life. Recurrent testing keeps everyone vigilant about the rising dangers of hacking, malware, and social engineering attacks by creating highly realistic attacks based on the latest phishing threats. Progress reports are also an important part of these training programs as they help employees and employees stay on top of their online security at all times.

Why is security awareness training so important?

Minimize the risks online

 

Nearly 84% of all data breaches happen as a result of human error. Employees are an easy target that can leave big security gaps in the company’s remote operations posture. Falling victim to phishing emails or other threats is a common occurrence in the business world nowadays due to the inefficient training in place, warning successfully against the real case scenarios of targeted cyber crime. Companies that understand the complexity of the issue and the repercussions that this may have on their business proceedings, should choose security training that is effective and up to date with the latest threats and implements practical risk mitigation content.

Make everyone feel  protected

 

An important part of having effective security training is to make your employees confident in their ability to recognize cyber threats. Rather than looking at the workforce as a weak link, companies and awareness training providers should create an effective syllabus that works hand in hand with the employees and their learning needs. It should motivate them to keep the company’s system secure rather than discourage them to continue learning and be mindful of the cyber threats at all times.

Enforce a positive training culture

 

One of the key aspects of cybersecurity training is the positive approach toward learning and prevention of threats. In order to create a strong security culture, a company needs to motivate its employees and make an open space for discussions, improvement, and cooperation. Online security should not be an afterthought but just the opposite! Everyone including management, IT teams, and the mobile workforce should be equally involved with training, progression, and information exchange without making the whole process feel tedious or redudant.

Improvement & Support

 

If a company is making cyber security its top priority, it should consider the individual training needs of its employees and continuously find new areas for improving their learning experience. An effective awareness training should offer modulus that is relevant to the job role and offers enough support during learning or testing throughout the program. Employees should feel endorsed by the training to expand their awareness skills and identify the areas where they need improvement or extra support. A well-defined security program should take the needs of the employees into account and respond to them appropriately.

With compliance in mind

 

By definition, security training awareness should be tailored to provide actionable knowledge for preventing cyber threats compromising the online security of a company. In addition, it should also help employees gain the skills that they need to ensure compliance with the standards of cyber security in the industries governed by external regulators. Noncompliance with GDPR can incur substantial costs to businesses, which is why effective security awareness training should take all levels of risk into account as part of its core program syllabus.

 

Is your cyber security training prepared to meet the needs of your remotely operating employees? If you need further assistance and more information on our learning program, make an inquiry today or check our cyber training page for more details!