If you thought that the web is a safe place, you should think again. The truth is that, nowadays, the internet is more dangerous than ever. There are thousands of threats lurking at you in every corner – viruses, and malware being just a small portion of them. Hackers and criminals don't sleep – every once in a while, a new internet threat created by them is discovered. Often the culprit of these threats are businesses – no matter how big or small.
As the experts from Bulletproof.co.uk notice, “In light of these new threats, one component of organizations' IT security strategy has become even more crucial: cyber security training. Often, simple human error is all that sits between a hacker and access to the corporate network. This makes bolstering defenses at the user level particularly important in the era of remote working, as personal devices offer hackers even more opportunities to attack.
There are several reasons why cyber security training is no longer a choice but a necessity. If you want to find out more about it, all you have to do is keep reading.
It Helps You Understand Today's Digital Landscape
The concept of cyber security training is not new to most companies – risks to personal or business security has been present ever since the invention of the internet. While most organizations have already taken measures to combat/prevent them, the internet today is a lot different than it was five years or even just a year ago, and hackers have at their disposal more advanced tools than before.
Two of the things cybercriminals use today to funnel information about their intended targets are artificial intelligence and automated software programs. With a little bit of help from phishing scams or system exploits, getting access to other people's passwords has become easier than ever.
Apart from stealing passwords, they can cause unrecognized data breaches, which in the worst case, can cause irreparable damage for years. Unfortunately, identifying a data breach is getting more and more difficult. According to the IBM experts, it takes around 197 days for a company to identify a data security breach. What's more, if the company fails to protect sensitive client's information from the attack, they might experience legal troubles.
It Makes Your Employees More Aware of the Risks
Often, the primary targets of hackers that want to gain access to the company's system would be their employees. What they usually do, is pretend to be one of the authorized members of the company, thanks to which they can damage the system from the inside while being undetected – it's a lot easier than using external means.
Unfortunately, many employees don't even realize how important cyber security training is for the company they are working for. However, that's not the worst information. According to a survey performed on 4.500 employees, 22% don't feel like they need to keep their employer's information safe.
It Helps You Win More Customers Over
Did you know that cyber security training can help you win over more high-profile contracts?
According to the CybSafe's survey, performed on 250 IT decision makers, more than 50% said that a client has either included cyber security precautions as part of the contract or part of the RFP process to win the contract. Almost 70% said that at least one client had required the achievement of a recognized cyber security standard.
While some people might think that cyber security training is not that big of a deal, for many business customers, it is actually quite the opposite and can be the reason for one getting or not getting the contract signed.
The Bottom Line
Today, performing cyber security training is no longer a choice but rather a necessity. With so many threats lurking at you in every corner, and hackers just waiting for your mistake to gain access to your accounts and your company's sensitive data, knowing how to protect yourself is of primary importance. Cyber security is a team effort, which is why every employee should go through that type of training. After all, all it takes for hackers to enter your company's system is a click on a malware infected link.
So what are you waiting for? Get in touch with a company organizing this type of training in your vicinity, and book it. You will definitely not regret it – as they say, it's always better to be safe than sorry. And who knows – maybe thanks to this, you will finally get the high-profile contract client you always wanted?
