It can happen to anyone, at any company and at any time, a phishing scam. Even when utilizing all the advanced security protocols that we advise our clients to use, and still a phishing email gets through.
The employee receives an email appearing to come from their boss asking them to act “right away”. Often the request is plausible so the employee needs to make a decision on taking action or questioning the action. Will your employees pass this test?
Sure, the firewalls, antivirus and encryption software can provide protection but your biggest asset for preventing a phishing scam threat is your employees. At the end of the day, your employees are your greatest defense against intruders — or your greatest weakness.
According to 2022 data from the Ponemon Institute, employee negligence causes about 56% of security incidents, and each incident costs companies an average of $484,933. Your unsuspecting, friendly, and helpful employees are like sitting ducks in the cross hairs of a high-powered hunting rifle. They are perhaps the weakest point of attack and will almost certainly be taken advantage of… unless they are trained to be vigilant and alert.
Having a comprehensive security awareness training program that each employee must participate is a grand goal. Getting the employees to internalize and live by what they learned is the challenge. Here are three ways to turn your employees from your greatest weakness to your biggest asset.
Develop A Culture of Security. Cultures are defined and lived from the top down. Leadership and Management teams must commit to these cybersecurity policies, procedures, and processes. They must communicate the importance of good cybersecurity protocol. Employees should understand why it is critical that they be good cybersecurity stewards. Management should proactively police to make sure everyone is following protocol and often communicate the importance.
Educate And Train. Create and implement a Security Awareness Training program that is mandatory, meaningful, and relevant. Teach your employees about common threats and dangers such as Social Engineering attacks. Make the training simple to understand and engaging by telling stories your employees can relate to. Show them how to use software and computers in a secure fashion. Explain what the correct processes and procedures are. Provide them with the critical training they need to effectively fight cybercrime.
Evaluate The Effectiveness. There are only two ways to find out. One, wait for a real attack to occur and hope for the best – or – two, launch a simulated attack yourself. Controlled Phishing attacks, penetration tests, tabletop incident response exercises or even a Monday morning pop quiz can all be effective exercises to evaluate your employees’ level of understanding and compliance. Use the test results as an opportunity to re-engage with employees or even re-tool training efforts. Everyone will get better with practice.
By putting a strong cybersecurity policy in place, you can be assured that your weakest link will become your strongest asset. At CSI we offer robust email filtering and encryption tools as well as security awareness training and phish testing to help you and your team build a defense against phishing scams. Reach out to us and we can tell you more.
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