Having a robust antivirus solution is no longer enough. Employees play a significant role in preventing cyberattacks. Most cybercriminals find employees as an alternative route of breaking into an organization with little resistance. As a matter of fact, the highest causes of breaches are careless employee actions and social engineering.
Companies or their employees may use different security solutions, Norton or Intego, depending on the OS and needs to fulfill. One can compare them here https://bestantiviruspro.org/comparison/norton-vs-intego/. However, there is very little information on keeping your company cyber-safe through employee awareness and training.
To make employees use antivirus solutions correctly, the companies should set some cybersecurity guidelines. And we’ll talk about this concept in the particular post.
What’s Cybersecurity At The Workplace?
Cybersecurity refers to the practice of protecting corporate computer systems and data from attacks by malware, worms, and viruses. The methods may include the use of antivirus programs or physical security and awareness training.
Why should a company have cybersecurity guidelines?
It’s imperative to have cybersecurity guidelines to prevent cyberattacks. Last year, the US alone was met with 1,473 data breaches, which disclosed about 164,68 million sensitive documents.
In this regard, the guidelines can protect a company’s data and sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. With cybersecurity guidelines, companies may effectively manage the prevention of and reaction to data leak threats.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) role
BYOD has become prevalent with most organizations. Fundamentally, it enables employees to enjoy the flexibility of deciding when and where to work and with what device. With companies allowing employees to use their own tools, it cuts their costs for acquiring IT assets. However, it dramatically exposes the company’s data at risk. This calls for proper training of the employees to raise cybersecurity awareness. Employees would need to learn to segregate important work and personal staff.
And also, employees would have to comprehend why it’s significant only to use vetted and secured applications to process the company’s data.
Identification and reporting of suspicious incidents
Implementing cybersecurity awareness training will facilitate employees to determine and manage questionable events promptly. Moreover, it will show which ones are worth reporting. Different reporting procedures can become effective. Employees can reach out through the IT service desk, special emails, or directly to the managers. Policies can also be introduced which outline the responsibilities of an employee in dealing with an incident.
Physical security
There is now a thin line between cybersecurity and physical security in this era of the Internet of Things (IoT). It’s no longer just about losing data and sensitive information. If hackers attack your organization, they can easily exploit your wireless security cameras to spy on your workforce. This can be prevented if there are cybersecurity guidelines in place for use by employees.
What to Add to Cybersecurity Awareness Program
When it comes to cybersecurity programs, there is no one-size-fits-all. Organizations can have different requirements depending on their risk analyses, strategic business goals, and objectives.
Below are some of the tips that can be implemented at your workplace as part of your company’s cybersecurity awareness program.
- Use of screen lock alerts to inform workers of an imminent cyber threat;
- Have the leadership team to be exemplary and to emphasize the importance of cybersecurity rules;
- Provide hints through the scrolling ticker, but without being intrusive;
- Launch discussions and forums with a guest from outside the company to talk about the seriousness of cybersecurity;
- Give employees regular tests, quizzes, and surveys. This may help to identify the gaps in knowledge and thus give a chance to remedy them;
Communication matters
Notably, the way of presentation and communication can become a determining factor.
In this regard, use corporate wallpapers and screensavers to highlight important security reminders and tips on the computer screens of employees. Lastly, make video content that informs the importance of cybersecurity. The video should come in line with your organization’s goals and principles, as well as its specific environment.
At the same time, it is necessary to introduce internal ambassadors for cybersecurity in the company. These may help to enforce cybersecurity best practices and assist individuals having problems with the available guidelines and policies.
Celebrating achievements to highlight the essence of cybersecurity is another strategy. For instance, you can celebrate that the company was subject to 150 phishing attacks that month, however, no one opened them and they were unsuccessful.
Conclusion
To stay safe from cyber attacks, it’s important to have workplace cybersecurity guidelines. A company can always have tailored policies that work best in its interests without compromising the business. These guidelines can be improved whenever there are new developments in cyber threats.
