Whether you run an airline, a tax accounting firm, or an iconic mountain resort like Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia as pictured below, chances are you provide new employees with at least one training session during the onboarding process. Additionally, while training is essential in every area of your business, it is especially crucial in cybersecurity. If your employees are not trained in fundamental security principles and practices, they will be prone to making costly mistakes. Consider that 90 percent of all data breaches and other security threats involve some degree of human error¹. Now, you may ask yourself, “How important is cybersecurity training for my business?”
(Image courtesy of https://wvtourism.com/company/snowshoe-mountain/)
The answer is simple. Cybersecurity training is more essential for your business than ever before. Keep in mind that the average data breach worldwide costs $4.45 million, and the average U.S. data breach a staggering $9.48 million, according to IBM². Therefore, safeguarding your business from threats like malware, ransomware, and spyware attacks is imperative. In this article, we will learn about the benefits that cybersecurity training has for businesses like yours.
One key benefit of cybersecurity training is that it protects your business’s most sensitive information³. Chances are you handle a variety of sensitive business and personal information every day, from customers’ names and contact information to financial records³. Furthermore, it is especially
important to protect your customer data, because it includes details such as credit card information as well as personally identifiable information (PII) like names and Social Security numbers³. Not surprisingly, this abundance of sensitive information makes your business a prime target for cybercriminals³. Thankfully, however, cybersecurity training helps you keep these malicious actors at bay. For example, security training programs teach your employees how to identify cyberthreats - such as phishing emails – as they arise³. Such programs also educate your staff about the importance of creating and managing strong passwords, as well as only using secure devices and networks³. This demonstrates the value of cybersecurity training for your business.
Meanwhile, cybersecurity training also helps your company improve its overall cyber resiliency¹. Chances are your business must face increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats – such as phishing and ransomware attacks – daily¹. While these complex attacks are difficult for you and your team to comprehend, ample security training can help you better identify such threats before they can wreak havoc on your organization¹. Additionally, when combined with AI-powered behavioral learning technology, a comprehensive training program is essential to stop phishers from hooking your business into their malicious schemes¹.
Sure, cybersecurity training helps you stop cybercriminals from infiltrating your business as we mentioned earlier, but it also helps you recover more quickly if you are attacked¹. If you fall victim to a data breach or other security incident, you will not only need to pay costly legal fees, but your reputation will collapse, and your customers will desert you en masse in favor of competitors¹. This results in lost revenues as well. For smaller businesses, the consequences can even be terminal, as 60 percent of small businesses must close their doors forever within six months after a data breach⁴.
Fortunately, however, cybersecurity training programs help you prevent data breaches and reduce the costs associated with such incidents when they do occur¹. With comprehensive security training programs in place, your employees will be well-versed in identifying potential security risks and reporting them to your IT department¹. By taking these proactive measures, you can better safeguard your company’s finances and prevent devastating losses in revenue, reputation, and trust¹. This shows that proper cybersecurity training is essential for your business.
Still another benefit of cybersecurity training for your business is that it helps your employees identify your organization’s most pressing cyber threats, including malware, phishing, and ransomware attacks³. With comprehensive training programs in place, you can educate your employees to recognize suspicious emails as well as potentially harmful links and/or attachments therein³. This in turn makes them less likely to click on malicious links (such as one claiming to be from the airline on which you booked a flight to Cleveland for your company’s upcoming trade show, for instance), accidentally download malware, or share your business’s most sensitive information with unauthorized parties³. In short, cybersecurity training ensures your employees are well-versed in identifying potential cyber threats so that they do not inadvertently create new ones for your business.
While cybersecurity training programs provide your employees with up-to-date knowledge about the latest security trends, not all of them are created equal¹. For example, if your company’s security training only includes long, boring videos followed by punishment-based phishing simulations and then more boring videos, it is highly ineffective¹. Therefore, you must create or select a cybersecurity training program comprised of short video clips, drawing your team into a compelling story that teaches them valuable security principles and practices throughout¹.
One way to ensure a compelling security training experience is to incorporate gamification into your training programs¹. By integrating game mechanics into your business’s cybersecurity training, you can create a dynamic, predictably awesome learning environment where your employees can apply the security principles that they have learned in an engaging manner¹. Furthermore, rewarding your employees as they gain valuable security knowledge results in measurable improvement¹. Keep in mind, too, that employees who regularly receive cybersecurity training are five times more likely to identify malicious links and avoid clicking on them than those who do not¹. In summary, comprehensive security training programs delivered in an engaging format will pay dividends for everyone in your organization.
(Image courtesy of https://www.welivesecurity.com/2020/04/21/how-gamification-can-boost-cybersecurity-training/)
Additionally, cybersecurity training programs help boost your employees’ overall productivity³. When given ample training on how to identify cyber threats and stop them in their tracks, your employees need not waste their precious time addressing security incidents³. This in turn frees them to focus on their core responsibilities, enhancing productivity and ultimately increasing your company’s bottom line as well³. This demonstrates the value of security training for creating a more productive business.
Finally, cybersecurity training programs help your business maintain valuable customer trust³. If your data is breached, customers will distrust and then abandon your business, thus resulting in lost revenues³. Fortunately, by investing in security training programs, you can show customers that you make data protection a top priority and take the necessary proactive measures to prevent harmful cyberattacks before they can wreak havoc on your company³. In conclusion, cybersecurity training is essential for helping you maintain your customers’ trust.
If you need a comprehensive cybersecurity training program for your business, navitend can help. We offer end user security training for small and medium-sized businesses throughout New Jersey, New York, and eastern Pennsylvania. Our top priority is providing you with a strong line of defense against phishing, ransomware, and other harmful cyberactivity, 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Navitend can help you. Call 973.448.0070 or setup an appointment today.
Sources:
¹Security Magazine. “Top benefits of cybersecurity training” by Maria Henriquez. Retrieved from https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/98530-top-benefits-of-cybersecurity-training.
²IBM Security. “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023.” Retrieved from https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/E3G5JMBP.
³AwareGO. “5 Benefits of Cyber Security Awareness Training for Small Businesses” by Svjetlana Vukic. Retrieved from https://awarego.com/5-benefits-of-cyber-security-awareness-training-for-small-businesses/.
⁴Cybersecurity Ventures. “60 Percent of Small Companies Close Within 6 Months Of Being Hacked” by Robert Johnson, III. Retrieved from https://cybersecurityventures.com/60-percent-of-small-companies-close-within-6-months-of-being-hacked/.
Contact us at 973.448.0070