How to transform your Employees Into Security Assets

Cyberattacks are on the rise. Forbes reports that businesses suffered 50% more cyberattacks per week in 2021 than in any prior year.

Unfortunately, far too many of those attacks are successful thanks to one major source of risk for every business: human beings. More than 90% of cyberattacks are successful because of human error. From opening a dodgy email to handing over their credentials, employees are a consistent gateway for cyberattacks and a major driver of risk for businesses. However, it’s a risk that can be mitigated effectively and affordably with security awareness training.  

Training Transforms Employees into Security Assets.

Security awareness training gives employers the opportunity to add more eyes to their security team by empowering employees to recognize and avoid the common threats that they face every day. It’s also a smart investment that provides a big security boost without a major upfront cost. That empowerment pays off.

From teaching data handling best practices to preventing an employee from downloading a ransomware-laden attachment, security awareness training is the key to building a strong defense against today’s biggest cybersecurity threats.

Employees Who Are Uneducated About Security are a Disaster Waiting to Happen.

businesses impacted by cybercrime in 2021, a 7% increase over 2020.Drilling deeper, these statistics can give you a snapshot of the cyberattack risk that businesses face right now.

• 84% of businesses were the victims of a successful phishing attack in 2021, a 15% increase over the same 12-month period in 2020.
• The U.S. has incurred a 127% year-to-date increase in the number of ransomware attacks while the U.K. has seen a 233% surge in ransomware infections.
• The average cost of a breach is estimated at $ 4.2 million per incident, 10% higher than in 2020 and the highest recorded in the 17 years.

Unfortunately, many employees don’t have a clue about the importance of their behavior in maintaining security. An estimated 45% of respondents in a HIPAA Journal survey said that they don’t need to worry about cybersecurity safeguards because they don’t work in the IT department.

Without the knowledge that they need to identify security problems, untrained employees are a ticking time bomb.

• Only an estimated 30% of internet users even know what ransomware or malware is
• 97% of employees cannot spot a sophisticated phishing email
• Only 16% of employees can recognize cyberthreats without security awareness training

Training Pays Off Fast.

Researchers in a U.K. study discovered that the improvement in employee behavior that companies see when they engage in security awareness training is stark.

• At the beginning of the study, as many as 40% to 60% of the employees surveyed were likely to open malicious links or attachments.

• After about six months of security awareness training, the percentage of employees who took the bait dropped to 20% to 25%.
• When the employees completed three to six months more of security awareness training, only 10% to 18% of them fell for phishing messages.

Ongoing training is essential for organizations to receive benefits like these. Each employee should receive 11 sessions per year.

Want to learn more about security awareness training and how it can help secure your company and save you money?  Contact us today or book a discovery session today.