21ST JUN 2024
Employees remain a favorite target for hackers. After all, they're the ones who deal with a treasure trove of data, some of it not meant for the eyes of competitors, cyber criminals, or even loved ones (thanks to those NDAs and business considerations you signed up for). Its important for companies to educate their workforce against the latest cyber threats. Knowing some tried-and-tested cyber security tips for employees can help you steer clear of cyber threats.
Human error is part of more than 95% of security breaches. Attackers use everything from malware, harmless-looking emails, phishing campaigns and social engineering tactics to go after information, credentials, funds, IP, or even brand repute.
And here’s the part that most people who work in the cybersecurity space have not communicated well to stakeholders like you – security awareness education can stop almost all of those cyber attacks.
We’re going to look at how cyber threats have evolved with our working habits, and how you can become better at spotting and taking down cyber threats.
Workplaces evolve. We’ve gone from being stuck in cubicles to remote working. These remote job roles may involve either having our own devices or using company-issued ones. We deal with operation systems, antivirus software, and data protection guidelines
Given these new ways of working, IT teams and cybersecurity experts face new challenges in ensuring the security of sensitive information.
It is far easier to exploit human weaknesses and technical loopholes in such a case.
So, whether you’re a solopreneur or a big business with thousands of employees – all it takes is one mistake to let the attackers in.
Here’s why cybersecurity awareness training is essential:
New attacks are launched every day, targeting hospitals and even banks.
Despite software and hardware-based safeguards in place, human error is the common reason why breaches happen.
Employee training is now tied to compliance requirements, necessitating the need for cyber security measures.
To prevent monetary losses, especially if you are a startup or small business.
How can employees become the best defence against cybersecurity threats?
We’ve compiled a list of tried and tested methods that can best protect your organization:
It bears repeating here – passwords are not meant to be shared. They are also not meant to be easily guessed. If remembering complex passwords is an issue, use a password manager to store everything. You will just need to remember one master password in that case.
It’s true. You don’t need to be good at poker to guess which emails are phishing for information or money. Just keep these things in mind when reading an email or browsing any site that requires your information for a transaction or approval:
Check the URLs – Inspect or hover over URLs. Do not click at them unless you are genuinely sure they point to the right destination.
Requests for personal information – Most emails that demand to see your personal information or credentials are not legitimate. Be wary.
They sound very dramatic or urgent - Have they got you in a panic? Do they need you to act fast or else? Yeah how about you exercise your power of ignorance instead?
Need some target practice with phishing emails? We’ve got you covered with a cybersecurity game. Practice makes perfect!
Your credit card, emails, social media accounts, just about everything you have are all online. If you start seeing any unfamiliar activity on these accounts - like a transaction you didn’t make or a social media post you didn’t create - consider changing your credentials asap. A compromised account can cause a lot of damage if not detected in time.
What if you don’t work out of an office? As a general rule of thumb, home or public networks are often less secure than company networks.
Here's some cyber security advice to keep in mind as a remote worker:
In a remote setup, it is important to have separate devices and accounts for personal and work reasons. In case of a breach or data leak on your work account, you don’t want your vacation photos to end up as part of a dark web data dump.
Turning on encryption can save your data even if it is stolen. That way strangers can’t open your files without having the correct PIN, biometrics or password on hand.
Turn on automatic locking on your device. This can be handy if you are working out of a coworking space or coffee shop and leave your device unattended (which can happen if you need that refill).
For added cyber protection, you can turn on remote wipe option on your device. In case of theft or loss, you can remotely delete everything on your device.
Chances are you are always on the move as a remote worker. In public spots, wifi connections are often unsecured. But no worries if you use a VPN service in conjunction with that WiFi hotspot you found at your favorite public park. VPNs make it hard for hackers to snoop on your activities on public networks.
Cybersecurity awareness training remains a potent tool against cyber attacks that exploit human weaknesses. Efforts are being made to make these learnings more interactive, interesting and engaging enough for just about every cyber denizen to know how to keep their guard up against online scams, ransomware attacks, suspicious emails and malicious software out there.
For office employees and remote workers alike, cybersecurity education needs to be simple enough to follow. With these cyber tips, you will be well-equipped to deal with the five C’s of cybersecurity – change, continuity, compliance, cost and coverage.
