One of the most common threats to cyber security is a team of employees with little to no knowledge of their responsibilities when it comes to cyber security.

However, it may be reassuring to hear that your employees can also be your strongest line of defense. By training your team, you can reduce the likelihood of a cyber security breach and ensure every aspect of your business continues to run as smoothly as possible. Here are just a few ways to improve cyber security by training employees.

Make everyone’s responsibilities clear

Every member of your team has a part to play in your company’s cyber security strategy. For some workers, it might simply be a case of creating strong passwords and storing data securely, but for other team members, it may be necessary for them to carry out risk assessments, keep software updated, and research new security tools. Make everyone’s responsibilities clear from the outset. Letting people get on with it can be good for morale, but arrange regular check-ins to ensure expectations are being met.

 

Host regular cyber security training sessions

Training is something too many businesses only consider in the aftermath of a cyber incident. But since prevention is better than cure, it’s much wiser to run training sessions sooner rather than later and minimise the risk of any mishaps in the first place.

 

This training doesn’t have to be formal or expensive. There are plenty of free online courses and webinars designed for beginners. Often, these training sessions can be completed in small chunks, making them ideal to work through gradually, rather than requiring a sudden time commitment.

 

Create a cyber security policy

Your cyber security policy should outline specific rules regarding emails, internet use, social networks and mobile devices.

 

You can introduce software to limit access to certain sites, but it’s wise to question how necessary this is, particularly if you’d like to build a culture of trust amongst your employees. In some industries, restricting access to social media could impact those who have genuine reasons to access these websites, whether it’s to carry out some research, find a company’s Facebook page, or run a marketing campaign.

 

Train your employees to recognise and respond to an issue

Hopefully, the training measures outlined above should help you to avoid any cyber security breaches, but it’s still wise to educate your employees on the signs that indicate an attack.

 

Suspicions could be raised by anything from a suspicious phone call asking for private company details to unusual activity on computers.

 

Ensure your employees know how to respond to an issue and make it clear who they should get in touch with if they need to report a problem.

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