Businesses typically worry about hackers when they think about cybersecurity. While it makes sense to choose practical tools that protect your data from criminals, you also need to consider the human element of cybersecurity. Surprisingly, your employees could pose a greater risk than hackers. Learning about how you can make your employees a critical line of defense against cyberattacks will add a significant layer of security that most companies lack.
Employees Can Give Criminals Access to Private Data
Employees that don’t have the right level of training present a significant threat to your cybersecurity. Pay attention to the following situations to decide what type of cybersecurity training your employees need.
They May Not Recognize Phishing Attempts
Unfortunately, many people don’t know how to recognize phishing attempts. Their lack of knowledge leaves your system open to attacks from ransomware, spyware and other types of malware.
Some of the most obvious signs of phishing emails include:
- Grammatical and spelling errors that seem out of character.
- Email addresses and domain names that don’t match expectations perfectly (for example, www.jnttech.com instead of www.jnttek.com).
- Unwarranted urgent messages, or threats that try to intimidate your employee to visit a website or download an attachment immediately.
- Unusual requests that don’t match the person’s job description.
- Requests for private information, such as phone numbers, credit card numbers, or account names.
BYOD Infects Your Network with Malware
A lot of companies like BYOD (bring your own device) policies because they can shift the financial burden of buying mobile devices to their employees. Employees rarely complain because they don’t want to carry more than one device at a time.
What employees do with their devices at home, however, can provide security at work. For instance, if someone were to visit a compromised site to download a movie, they could unknowingly download malware in the process. When they connect their devices to the office network, the malware can transfer destructive files to your system.
Employees Provide a Critical Line of Defense Against Cyberattacks
With the proper training, employees can learn to recognize signs of attempted phishing and cyberattacks. Even the most basic training can teach them to look for symptoms like:
- Pop-up ads that don’t originate from websites.
- Slow applications that usually work quickly.
- Lost storage space.
- Reports from clients and colleagues that their accounts are sending spam messages.
More in-depth cybersecurity training will make your workers even more effective at stopping cyberattacks before they become major problems.
Get Your Employees Effective Cybersecurity Training
JNT Tek provides cybersecurity awareness training that will make your employees an asset to data protection. The program focuses on the most threatening issues, such as employees falling victim to phishing emails and avoiding risky websites. Besides teaching your employees about cybersecurity, the Proofpoint system tests them to see how they will respond to phishing simulations. Contact JNT Tek today to learn more about how Proofpoint can improve your company’s cybersecurity.
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