Improving Cybersecurity Awareness in Your Business

There's a common misconception that cyberattacks are sophisticated operations that carefully and cleverly break down your defenses. In reality, most data breaches and ransomware and other malware attacks stem from preventable mistakes.

Your employees are a crucial line of defense against business threats and risks. Even if your company has implemented the best cybersecurity software and protocols, they'll only hold up if your entire team steadfastly employs them. That's why promoting vigilance and creating a culture of cybersecurity awareness is so important for reducing your risk of future attacks.

The importance of cybersecurity awareness

Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly common, and a successful attack can cost your business a small fortune. The State of Ransomware 2023 report found that 66% of organizations surveyed were hit with at least one ransomware attack in 2022, and it cost an average of $1.82 million to recover from a successful attack.

While having a strong cybersecurity plan can help deter more sophisticated attacks, this alone isn't enough. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2022 (PDF), 95% of cyberattacks occur due to human error.

Simply put, if your employees aren't aware that seemingly innocuous mistakes like visiting a questionable website or clicking a dubious email link can allow cybercriminals to access your systems, even the most robust cybersecurity plan won't be successful. To fully protect your business, creating a culture of cybersecurity awareness is key.

Preventive vigilance can also help detect problems earlier and minimize damage. For example, your cybersecurity team could focus on real-time data monitoring of transactions and immediately shut down anything that looks suspicious. This approach can help strengthen the rest of your risk management procedures.

How to improve cybersecurity awareness

Vigilant employees will pay a little extra attention and double-check before proceeding with an unusual request. This means they'll always be on guard for things that look unusual, such as an email request for information that doesn't seem necessary, a suspicious link or a strange file attachment. Here are steps you can take to improve cybersecurity awareness in the workplace.

1Invest in employee education

As with other types of security awareness or loss prevention programs, knowledge is key to detection. Thankfully, creating a cybersecurity training program doesn't require deep expertise. Simply teaching your staff about the most common types of cyberattacks is often a powerful starting point. The US Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency partnered with Cyber.org to create a free cybersecurity training series you can share with your employees.

2Share common red flags

You may understand what a suspicious situation looks like, but your employees may not. As part of your cybersecurity training program, describe common red flags, like the hallmarks of business email compromise or common signs of an ACH fraud attempt.

3Encourage communication

Employees should feel comfortable speaking up when they see a potential issue, even when doing so may create delays. It's better for them to be overly cautious than to brush aside what could be a serious risk.

4Create a plan for remote workers

Remote work may bring your company and employees a host of benefits, but it can also introduce different risks. Take additional steps to create a cybersecurity plan for remote workers and educate your employees on the importance of device security and the use of a secure Wi-Fi connection.

5Foster an ongoing dialogue

It's not enough to train your employees once and be done with it—they need regular updates and reminders. Make cybersecurity awareness an ongoing initiative through quarterly training sessions and ongoing reminders. If your company has an internal email newsletter, consider including a short cybersecurity awareness tip within each one.

6Work with a risk management firm

Perhaps you aren't even aware of the weaknesses in your security systems. A third-party risk management or cybersecurity firm can assess your workplace and operations to show where you're strong and where you're vulnerable. They can also develop risk management training exercises to measure how your employees respond to potential threats and give them firsthand experience in the importance of cybersecurity awareness.

7Make cybersecurity awareness a top-down initiative

Your leadership team must adopt these vigilance practices to make them part of your business culture. Employees may make mistakes when rushed or if they feel they don't have time to properly consider a potential risk. You and your managers should stress that, above all, it's important for employees to prevent costly mistakes, even if it means taking a little extra time to double-check their work before completing other deadlines.

The bottom line

These small investments can pay off immensely if they prevent a costly data breach. Your employees are a key line of defense against cyberattacks and other cybersecurity threats. By working with your employees at all levels to increase vigilance and improve cybersecurity awareness, you can significantly strengthen your risk prevention strategy.