Cyber security training for the New Year

it meeting

With 2022 fast approaching, keeping your team up to date with the latest cyber security risks and protocols can be very important. This can be a simple and effective step for keeping your company safe and protected in the year ahead. Cyber crime is on the rise, and small to medium sized businesses are at more risk than ever before. From phishing to ransomware, its important that your staff know what to do, and how to prevent cyber crime. Here at Creative Network Solutions, we are Manchester’s leading IT support and network services experts. And this is our guide to everything you should consider when training your team for cyber security.

What are the advantages of cyber security training for the New Year?

So, why is it important to give your staff thorough cyber security training? Well, there are a number of benefits to this, including:

  • Cyber criminals target humans too- with more advanced network defense strategies in use, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for cyber criminals to find and exploit weaknesses. That’s why they will be more likely to use social engineering attempts, or phishing attempts. As a result, it is essential that your staff know how to avoid and prevent any un-authorised access. Full training for your staff can save your business thousands in the long term.
  • Understanding the risks associated with downloading- employees with cyber security training will know and understand the risks of following a link in an email, and downloading software and apps that may not be secure. This can be very beneficial, as while many cyber security elements focus on deliberate, specific attacks on your company, other more general pieces of malware can be unknowingly downloaded from infected apps and software downloads. These may not have been specifically targeted at your company, but they can still disrupt the work day, corrupt important data, and result in a loss of sales or earnings.

How can you train your team effectively?

Effective training for your employees should involve:

  • Training everyone- everyone who has access to the IT network, who opens emails or uses a USB drive could potentially allow access to cyber criminals. So its important to train your whole team, from top to bottom.
  • Tailor training to the main risks- while its a great idea to train your whole team, different employees may have different levels of access, and training should be tailored to this. It should also be focused on the main risks for your company, and preventing these. All staff should know:
    • To use, unique strong passwords
    • How to recognize spam and phishing in emails
    • How to back up data
    • How to use antivirus software
    • To only use known and secure wifi connections out of the office
  • Keep staff knowledge up to date- as cyber crime practices change quickly, its important for your staff to be made aware of any relevant changes and to up date practices accordingly over time.

For more information or advice about training your employees to recognize and avoid security risks, why not ask the experts today, here at Creative Network Solutions.