How can you enhance your employees' cybersecurity awareness?

One of the best ways to get employees to understand the importance of cybersecurity awareness is to bring the topic 'home' for them - rather than presenting over their heads with technical jargon and strategies that apply only in the workplace, provide employees with meaningful information and strategies that they can apply in their own personal lives as well. Show them that what is at stake for the company is also at stake for them, individually, even where scope and scale differ. By giving them a more personal perspective on the topic, you give the employee base a reason to *want* to conduct themselves in a prudent manner consistent with corporate risk management requirements.

A key piece that needs to be understood is "why should our employees/staff care about cyber security". The story needs to be crafted in such a way that staff understand why they need to play a part and actually feel connected to making a difference. How the story is told is very important so staff can connect with the desired outcome.

When accessing the current situation you don't need to provide training first then start testing the knowledge. Questions when crafted have to be relevant to business need of organization and relevant to job role of the employees, as one size doesn't fit all

I think any organization that is serious cybersecurity awareness training, should consider using interactive simulations, real-world scenarios, regular updates on emerging threats, and personalized content tailored to employees' roles. Additionally, fostering a culture of cybersecurity through ongoing communication and incentivizing good security practices can be effective. Some organizations/employees do not understand that cybersecurity a shared responsibility among all stakeholders (from cleaners to C-suite).

Getting a little ahead of where to start. First define what your goal is. Are you trying to solve a specific problem? Do you respond to several phishing attacks in a week? Smishing? Then once you have a goal in mind; you can start assessing. Even then it may be better to start with generic training. I believe employees as a whole will be resistant to start with the testing process without any training.

Tailoring content to both the organisational context and the job role is critical, otherwise staff will simply switch off. Different formats work well for different roles and personalities. Don't immediately assume a training module is required.

Many groups have some responsibility within the incident response process. Along with training consider tabletop exercises to take those groups through their areas so they can understand how actions impact their workload. I would also recommend having a clear response to suspected compromise. Let people know before hand that IT and Security will require isolating their machine, likely reimaging if there is a suspected compromise. This costs employees productive time that they may need to reach their and the company's objectives. Ensure your training assists them in preventing that occurrence.

Make training relevant to home life, providing examples of current trends and real world examples. If an employee can appreciate how a reused password or lack of MFA can result in their bank account being compromised, they will pick up good traits which will be applied to work life.

Your training should not only be relevant to your workplace, but employee’s personal life and the broader community and national contexts. Engagement with wider networks, and placement of your organisation’s strategy with broader national objectives and strategies promotes bigger picture thinking and behaviours. Training needs to be engaging and encouraging, avoid tickbox and rote learning as the default style of training and encourage learning and investment by staff

In bolstering our cybersecurity defenses, as a seasoned Senior Manager, I emphasize ongoing education and training for our workforce. Through tailored programs, we address emerging threats, focusing on phishing resilience, secure password practices, and recognizing social engineering tactics. Regular workshops and simulated phishing exercises create a proactive cybersecurity culture. Real-world examples and case studies make the content relatable, fostering a deep understanding of potential risks. Continuous learning ensures our employees stay ahead of evolving cyber threats, transforming them into the first line of defense. This proactive approach significantly mitigates the risk of security breaches

In today's world where everything is fighting for your employee's attention, you need to keep your messaging concise and on target. Regular updates through Viva Engage, email, posters, and safety moments during team meetings will help keep concepts fresh. Phishing simulations with immediate and direct feedback offer teaching opportunities. Positive reinforcement of desired actions like reporting phishing help drive desired behaviors. Alternative testing with USB drops, Vishing, and password auditing give a more comprehensive view into overall security behaviors and allow you to tailor training to specific challenges.

The approach should be attractive for the eyes of the employee(s), maybe work with the graphic design department to better attrack the employee(s) , use infos that would benefit their daily life not just work.

As an experienced Senior Manager in workforce management, it's imperative to test and reinforce employees' cybersecurity awareness continually. Implement simulated phishing exercises to gauge susceptibility and provide targeted training for those who may fall prey. Regularly update employees on emerging threats and industry trends to ensure their knowledge stays current. Foster a culture of shared responsibility, encouraging employees to report suspicious activities promptly. Establish a system of positive reinforcement, recognizing and rewarding individuals who demonstrate exemplary cybersecurity practices. Consistency is key; periodic assessments coupled with ongoing education create a robust defense against evolving cyber threats.

Annual training is not enough, and should be conducted at a minimum of quarterly. Depending on the audience, tailor training content to match roles/departments. Gamifying training can make cyber awareness fun (careful not to lose the messaging), such as creating friendly competitions between departments to see who scores best. Use the carrot not the stick method ie Don’t call out individuals (the stick) and reward teams/individuals with food voucher/company swag/lunch etc (the carrot).

Testing employees via engaging content is the aim here. Knowledge can be gamified and made into a friendly competition. Reward those who put the time in to learn and demonstrate their proficiency.

Establish a Cyber Champions program that identifies and empowers staff who are passionate and show an extra level of interest in cyber security. Provide them additional training and insights that they can take back to their teams. Push for these people to be from non-technical areas, not just technical staff.

Setup a ‘Cybersecurity Awareness’ SharePoint/intranet for employees to share ideas and get them involved. Included cyber topics/key takeaways in company newsletters/emails. Create an Ask me Anything (AMA) for staff to ask questions around cyber. Employees can be intrigued about cyber and painting the security team in a positive light will mean staff will see as an enabler not disabler/ good cop not bad cop.

Establishment of cyber security champions within organisations is a fantastic way to engage staff who are passionate but who may or may not be technical. Promoting these leaders in all areas of your organisation will lead to proliferation of cyber security throughout the wider organisation.

Provide comprehensive cybersecurity training programs for all employees, covering topics such as phishing awareness, password security, social engineering, data protection, and safe browsing practices. Offer both initial onboarding training and ongoing refresher courses to reinforce key concepts. Make cybersecurity training engaging and interactive by incorporating multimedia elements, real-world scenarios, quizzes, and simulations. Interactive learning experiences can increase retention and help employees apply cybersecurity best practices in their daily work routines.

We should make cybersecurity training more accessible by adapting it to fit different ways people learn, ensuring everyone can easily grasp the concepts. Here are some creative ideas for you to use: 1. Transform your conference room into an escape room with clues related to cyber! 2. Phishing tournament! Create mock phishing emails and reward those who spots them first. 3. Share cybers tip via email or on your internal network. 4. Host casual lunch sessions where users can learn about cybersecurity. 5. Use online platforms that turn learning about cybersecurity into a game, complete with levels, badges, and leaderboards. We need to make cybersecurity a part of the workplace culture in a way that’s engaging and memorable.

Transparency and accountability from management to cyber security principles and policy will promote awareness, accountability and collaboration within employees. Reward those who identify in-house phishing emails, testing and those who wish to contribute to policy. Collect staff suggestions and involve champions in discussions about the direction of your company

We should make cybersecurity more fun and engageable, by recognising and rewarding good practices , we should acknowledge and award employee(s) who actively contribute to maintaining a secure work environment. This would create a positive loop and motivating others to priotirize cyber security

Assess , review , improve these three methods are simple yet effective to bettwr understanding and enhancing the cyber security as a whole

Identify areas where your employees need more training by regularly reviewing their level of cyber security awareness. Work towards improving their awareness by shifting away from boring PowerPoint presentations and try something new, like video simulations, hands-on workshops or gamified training modules.

There are key behaviors everyone can improve. We do that by invoking curiousity about seemingly mundane things. How are those passwords? Want to change some to passkeys? (What are passkeys, and who's offering them)? Just why IS multifactor authentication so powerful and something that can boost your confidence? How often should you back up your data, where, and why? How about testing those backups? How much does that cost? (It used to cost more - a great way to introduce that topic). These things come before assessments. They need to be top of mind in an organization. Technology alone isn't enough.

Lead by example, share your success to identify threats and your failure to recognise a fishing attack for example. We are human beings, we need empathy and recognition to flourish!

To enhance employees' cybersecurity awareness, organizations should implement a multifaceted approach. Enhance employees' cybersecurity awareness through regular, interactive training sessions covering best practices and emerging threats. Implement simulated phishing exercises to sharpen their ability to recognize potential threats. Communicate and reinforce clear cybersecurity policies, emphasizing the importance of strong password practices, secure data handling, and incident reporting procedures. Establish a culture of vigilance with ongoing updates, recognition programs for exemplary practices, and leadership support, empowering employees to actively contribute to the organization's cybersecurity resilience.

Cybersecurity awareness is not a one-time event but an ongoing process aimed at significantly reducing your organization's vulnerability to cyber threats. - Encourage open dialogue about security concerns and questions. - Foster a blame-free environment where employees feel comfortable reporting suspicious activity without fear of repercussions. - Empower individuals across departments to act as security advocates. - Provide employees with real-time insights into current threats and security incidents. This fosters transparency and a sense of shared responsibility. - Implement secure password managers to reduce the risk of credential compromise. - Regularly evaluate your security policies, procedures and training.