4 Benefits Of Cybersecurity Awareness Training For Employees

You may think that your company won’t ever endure a cybersecurity threat or data breach. But the reality is, no company, however big or small, is safe from getting hacked nor their information stolen.

Cybersecurity threats continuously evolve as hackers learn more about the latest malware detection software and firewalls on the market. However, there are smart ways to prepare your team to stay hyper diligent and aware of the latest threats they could face so that your company stays clear of them in the future.

For over ten years, LDI Connect has provided managed IT services to clients looking to protect their networks from cyber threats. We know how stressful it can be to run a business while fending off hackers. LDI Connect ensures that our client’s team is prepared to deal with cyber threats from the onset.

Within this article, we will cover what cybersecurity awareness training is and four significant ways it can benefit your employees and overall company. By the end of this article, you will have more awareness of the subject and understand key ways that cybersecurity awareness training can positively impact your team.

What Is Cybersecurity Awareness Training?  

Cybersecurity awareness training is a type of formal coaching provided to a workforce to enhance their knowledge and awareness of cybersecurity threats. This training offers a wide array of information regarding identification techniques and proper procedures for addressing them.

Cybersecurity awareness training is geared towards helping companies contain the weakest link. The weakest link is human error, seeing as human beings are the most susceptible to being manipulated.

This training can include live hackings, recognizing phishing emails and scams, along with tests that challenge employees to identify what is a scam and what is not.

For example, training exercises may include sending an employee a phishing email with a click here to reset password button that will lead to a prompt that states how the employee failed the test due to them falling for the bait. Tests like these train employees to identify phishing scams early on and enable them to know what to do should a threat occur.

Hackers are constantly reinventing the wheel and finding new ways to access your company’s credentials and sensitive data. Cybersecurity awareness training is meant to keep your workforce informed and prepared for different types of cybersecurity threats.

What Are 4 Key Benefits Of Cybersecurity Awareness Training? 

Cybersecurity awareness training enables employees to detect cyber threats while also educating them on risky behavior that can compromise personal information. This training process is beneficial to employees and your company alike.

Let’s break down the four significant benefits of cybersecurity awareness training for your employees.

1. Improves Security

It may be the most obvious, but yes, cybersecurity awareness training improves security by strengthening your company’s human element. What does that mean?

Well, by strengthening your employee’s ability to identify, report, and handle cyber threats, your company is essentially making them less likely to be exploited.  

While cybersecurity awareness training may provide insight into the right malware detection software and firewalls to install, it can provide your team with the knowledge it needs to not be taken advantage of.

Cybersecurity awareness training improves security by ensuring that your employees have the knowledge and tools necessary not to fall victim to a scam.

2. Increases Employee Resilience 

Cybersecurity awareness training increases your employees’ aptitude by teaching them various ways hackers exploit information from a given company. Some ways include phishing emails with unsafe links and downloads, and weak passwords.

Employees will be less likely to make an error that can cause a malicious data breach when given the knowledge and awareness of different cybersecurity risks. Instead, employees will know to send a suspicious message right to the trash. This small action can help save your company from a devastating ransomware attack.

3. Gives Back Time To Other Departments 

Educating your employees on cyber risks and threats means that they will less likely waste your HR or IT team’s time.

With employees being well-versed enough on cybersecurity threats they will be able to handle daily or weekly threats themselves, and won’t need to depend on another department for the proper protocol.

Employees will be able to rely on themselves to properly assess a cyber threat without needing another person to confirm.

Not only does this mean less administrative work, time, and effort spent on evaluating cyber risks. But it means that your business will include more people that are knowledgeable about cyber threats and can hold themselves responsible to mitigate risk.

4. Improves Your Cybersecurity Policy

A data breach can damage your company’s reputation, resulting in a significant loss of customers. To retain customers’ trust, ensuring that the company upholds your cybersecurity policy is imperative.

Suppose any part of your company’s operations causes a data breach. In that case, you and your end client’s data are at risk of being tampered with.

A cybersecurity policy creates a standard of behavior for your company regarding email correspondence and attachments, the use of social media, and surfing the web. Cyber awareness training will allow your company to enforce its cybersecurity policy fully. Your employees will better understand how to maintain the security of your company’s data and applications.

The more time and effort your company puts into training your employees on cybersecurity awareness, the easier it will be to abide by a cybersecurity plan and policy that keeps its employees’ and customers’ information protected at all times.

Ready To Train Your Employees On Cybersecurity Awareness?

Whether you would prefer your internal IT department to conduct the cybersecurity awareness training or hire a Managed IT Provider or a security awareness organization like KnowBe4, training your employees on cybersecurity awareness is critical.

Human error can lead any company to compromise its information accidentally.

At LDI Connect, we encourage customers to partake in a complimentary IT Security Risk Assessment that can evaluate their current security posture.

Our partner, KnowBe4 provides cybersecurity training and IT Security Tools and tests your employees and networks by helping them to identify various problems of social engineering, ransomware, spearfishing, and more.

Speak with an LDI Connect representative to find out more about cybersecurity awareness training today.