Give the Gift of Cybersecurity Awareness Training for the Holidays

The holiday season is here and what better gift to give your employees than cybersecurity awareness training. Employees should always undergo security awareness training but doing it before the holidays is especially important. The reason for this is that many cyber-attacks occur around the holidays. Hackers know that employees are distracted and out of the office. To help keep your holidays cyber attack free, be sure to invest in security awareness training for employees. In this week’s article we are going to talk about this training and how it can help keep your business, employees, and customers safe for the holiday season.

The holidays are one of the worst times to experience a cyber-attack.

If your organization falls victim to a cyber-attack around the holidays, the damage can be catastrophic. The reason for this is because the workforce that normally responds to cyber threats may not be in the office because they are on holiday leave. Hackers know that businesses are very vulnerable around the holidays, and they will take advantage of it if they can. Employees are distracted and out of the office and these reasons are why cyber-attacks increase around the holidays. Even if the attack happens before employees go on holiday vacation, no one will want to have the news of a major breach ruin their holiday spirit. Prevent potential holiday-related cyber disasters by providing your employees with the correct awareness training before the holidays come.

Will my customers feel better knowing that my employees have completed cybersecurity awareness training?

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the danger of cyber-attacks. A recent survey showed that 70% of consumers believe that businesses are not doing their part in protecting customer data from cyber threats. Also, two out of three customers will actively try to avoid giving patronage to a business that has experienced a cyber-attack in the last year. 

Consumers are even more vigilant around the holidays because a major data breach can easily dampen holiday cheer. Make sure your employees are aware of the damage a data breach or cyber-attack can do to the company’s reputation.

Can phishing tests help increase cybersecurity awareness?

The number of emails your employees will receive around the holidays usually increases quite a bit. Vacation notices, shipping notifications, and holiday greeting emails will be flooding their inboxes. Email is a common way hackers send phishing scams. Employees are less likely to be vigilant for these scams because the holidays are distracting. 

This is why using phishing tests to increase cybersecurity awareness before the holidays is a great idea. Phishing email tests cover everything from phony holiday promotions to fake package tracking. Most phishing test platforms can be customized to be realistic as possible with company logos and convincing text.

Cybersecurity Awareness Training

Cybersecurity awareness training around the holidays can strengthen the culture of security for the new year.

The new year is always an optimal time to get a fresh start. Developing a culture of security will make everyone feel happier and safer in and out of the office. Creating that culture means adapting security as a value of your company. The best thing about creating that culture of cybersecurity is that it can be used at work and at home. These benefits are why it may be easy to get people on board with cybersecurity awareness training. Employees will love being able to spot cyber threats while using the internet on their personal time for the holidays at home.

Teach your employees the importance of securing their devices while working remotely for the holidays.

There is a high probability that your employees will either be on vacation or working remotely around the holidays. With this comes the increased vulnerability of using their own devices to perform job duties. Many employees assume that the devices they use at home are just as secure as the ones they use internally. Make sure you are providing the right resources and training before employees head home to work for the holidays. The cybersecurity awareness training you provide should cover the importance of device security in and out of the office and the importance using a VPN (virtual private network) when logging in for remote work.

Book cybersecurity awareness training for your employees with Tekscape. It is not a matter of if a cyber-attack could happen to you or your employees. It is a matter of when the attack will occur. According to Verizon, roughly 85% of breaches are due to human error. As organizations race to improve their technology protect against cyber-attacks, many are simultaneously taking advantage of Security Awareness Training for their employees. Employee training has been around for some time now but as cybercrime evolves, so should our educational material. Employees are the front-line defense against hackers and phishing scams.

Cybersecurity awareness training will also prepare employees for a threat reaction.

Nobody wants to deal with a major emergency before the holidays. If your company does find itself a victim of a cyber attack before the holidays, awareness training can lessen the blow. Threat reactions are best handled by internal IT teams or managers. To establish a good threat reaction, the topics you will want to include in your training are as follows.

• Assembling the proper threat action team
• How to investigate the source of the attack
• How to contain damage
• How to assess the attack’s severity
• How to properly notify employees and customers

Book cybersecurity awareness training for your employees with Tekscape.

It is not a matter of if a cyber-attack could happen to you or your employees. It is a matter of when the attack will occur. According to Verizon, roughly 85% of breaches are due to human error. As organizations race to improve their technology protect against cyber-attacks, many are simultaneously taking advantage of Security Awareness Training for their employees. 

Employee training has been around for some time now but as cybercrime evolves, so should our educational material. Employees are the front-line defense against hackers and phishing scams.