Ransomware attacks and viruses can hit any type of business, and can cause lasting damage. Cyber-attacks are unfortunately a part of modern business, but training staff to be vigilant online could be the extra protection that saves your company from being held hostage. After all, there is only so much anti-virus software can do when employees are blindly giving hackers access to your full database.
95% of breaches are started by human error, according to IBM’s 2015 Cyber Security Intelligence report. Additionally, 60% of malware cases were caused by staff accidentally or purposefully giving cyber criminals access to systems. With this in mind, it’s never been more imperative to make sure every employee understands the dangers of malware.
You probably train your staff in various IT software – so why would you neglect basic security training? Never presume that every staff member understands how ransomware works or can spot a phishing email. To be totally safe, the best way to encourage staff to act responsibly online is to conduct regular training in cyber security.
Best Practices
Firstly it’s crucial that every company has a guideline of best procedures that employees can access and follow at all times. Even with regular training, it can be difficult to remember everything so having a handy document to refer to is helpful. Best practices could include reporting suspicious emails or activity, spotting infected files and never giving out passwords or other confidential company information.
Professional Training
Sometimes in-house training doesn’t work because it’s not taken seriously. Cyber security is a serious threat, so it deserves proper training sessions led by IT professionals. Your team are your first line of defence, so it pays to invest in professional training which could protect your business for years to come. Don’t forget that every new employee needs the security training along with other essential company training.
Awareness Campaigns
Training only goes so far – it’s important to keep cyber security at the forefront with awareness campaigns. Encourage staff to be vigilant with posters asking themselves certain questions before clicking on an email attachment. For example:
Do I know the sender?
Do I really need to view the link? Can I do my job without visiting that link or downloading that file?
Did I order something from that company or join that mailing list?
Malware and ransomware is constantly evolving, so it’s important that the workforce is pro-active in defending your data. Phishing scams change so employees need to apply their knowledge to anything which looks suspicious.
Of course, it’s always important to install that latest anti-virus software on your system, but crucially it is human error which leads to the majority of malware and ransomware infections.
