IT security leaders understand the importance of following corporate policies to protect your assets and systems. Your security team works hard to keep up with the latest threats and prepare for intrusions. Despite your best efforts, there are still many holes until the rest of your workforce realizes that security is everyone’s business.
Why? According to a Wall Street Journal survey, employees are the biggest cybersecurity threat to organizations[1]. Employees can gain access to your system by sharing passwords, using insecure networks, or falling for scams.
This risk has been exacerbated by the increasing dependence on remote workers. There are more ways to attack the system by adding devices and personal networks. Your company could be in a difficult spot if you don’t have the ability to monitor what is happening.
It is crucial that employees are trained on how to avoid putting your organization at risk. It is your responsibility as an IT leader to prepare them. You will need to instruct staff on how to behave and make it clear what to do (and not do) and how to enforce these behaviors.
How can you make sure policies are adhered to? Establish a security culture.
Employees should be made aware of the issues and how to respond. They should also prioritize security in their daily behavior. We will discuss the most important steps you can take to prepare your employees and protect your company.
Each employee team should share the risks
You should first identify potential risks and inform everyone about them. Many employees don’t understand or know what they are doing to make the company vulnerable.
In plain language, explain to them why it is important for them to follow the policies. Include the company’s impact as well as theirs and that of their colleagues. A message like “The costs of dealing with these kinds of breaches can lead to layoffs” may be more effective than “We all need to keep our company safe.”
Help employees identify threats
Your employees might not be able to spot a scam or detect a network that isn’t secure. Give your employees examples of malicious behavior and how to respond to it if they notice it. Although employees may not be familiar with phishing emails, they should be able identify common pitfalls such as misspellings, basic grammar errors, strange-looking hyperlinks, low-resolution logo images and other signs of these types.
You wouldn’t think of using a flash drive you found in a parking lot to insert it into a company computer. However, CompTIA conducted a study and found that nearly 20% of people did this. They even followed this pattern by clicking on unknown text files and following links to unknown websites.
Educate employees on Password Best Practices
A connected device that isn’t properly secured could fall into the wrong hands. Employees are now carrying more devices than ever before, which can access sensitive company data, files, and systems. This is due to the growing popularity of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). A single tablet left at an airport or coffee shop could expose your company to many dangers.
Employees should not be able to decide whether to use passwords to protect their laptops, tablets, and phones. This will help to mitigate the risk. To make it more difficult to crack, require that all devices are password protected.