Written by: Marissa Daily – Senior, Solutions and Content Manager at TPx.
It’s a common misconception that cybersecurity is the IT team’s responsibility. But even the best security experts can’t singlehandedly prevent phishing emails, social engineering, data breaches, or malware.
Human element remains the greatest risk factor when it comes to cybersecurity and research suggests that 90% of successful breaches are caused by human error. Whether it’s clicking on a bad link, falling for a scam, or having a weak password, much can go wrong.
As cyber threats grow more sophisticated with each passing day, businesses big and small must develop a company-wide culture of cybersecurity awareness to maximize their protection. Here’s where to start:
Implement Regular Security Awareness Training
An estimated 3.4 billion spam emails are sent every day. Any one of us could be the unknowing gateway to compromising our company’s security – that’s why it’s everyone’s responsibility to learn how to recognize and avoid cyberattacks. Security training should be consistent, interactive, and relevant. Regularly exposing employees to hands-on exercises like phishing simulations is key to building vigilance.
Have Documented Policies Understood by All
Your security policies must be widely shared to give employees a strong understanding of what is expected of them. Ideally, you’ll also equip employees with the “why.” For example, your company probably has multi-factor authentication in place. But do your teams understand how it protects them and their data? Build buy-in through consistent education and help each person feel like part of a collective effort. That’s always more effective than simply trying to enforce rules.
Empower Everyone
There’s strength in numbers. It’s not enough for some employees – say, the IT team – to be hyper-vigilant. Instead, through policies and regular training, encourage every individual to feel responsible for their piece of the security puzzle. No matter their role, each employee should feel empowered to speak up if they encounter something suspicious and know exactly what to do in case of an incident.
Building a culture of cybersecurity isn’t an easy task, but it’s one that can transform your greatest security liability – people – into your strongest asset.
About TPx
Since 1998, TPx has helped businesses navigate a complicated and evolving IT landscape. Our passion is IT and we’re committed to making IT easy for our customers. With a full suite of managed IT, cybersecurity, network connectivity and unified communications solutions, TPx helps businesses solve their IT challenges.