What Is Cybersecurity Awareness Training, and Why Is It Important?
Cyberattacks. You hear about them all the time. Nearly every day, it seems like there’s another catastrophic data breach or large-scale hack in the news, whether it’s happening in a school district or at a multinational corporation. Organizations try to stay ahead of the criminals, but many lack an essential piece of the puzzle — the task of educating their employees and ensuring they do their part to keep data safe. One key solution? Cybersecurity awareness training.
What Is Cybersecurity Awareness Training?
Cybersecurity awareness training is ongoing education to demonstrate ways hackers can breach protected information and show employees how they can avoid making criminals’ goals easier. It covers several core topics, including timely threats, cyberattack red flags, defensive measures, password management, phishing, email security and threat-reaction strategies. This training should be adjusted and delivered regularly to keep up with cybercriminals and their evolving tactics.
Why Is Cybersecurity Awareness Training Important?
Digital crimes are becoming more prevalent every day. Training employees to recognize warning signs and attack attempts is the surest way to protect organizations and keep sensitive information safe. When workers recognize potential phishing and social engineering scams (in which someone feels pressure to give up their data unknowingly or sometimes willingly), they can stop hackers in their tracks.
Chances are your company is required to perform cybersecurity awareness as regulations become increasingly common for small and large firms alike. Employees are the first line of defense against online threats, so equipping them with the right tools is crucial. You can find engaging and practical training programs showing specific and authentic examples of phishing and malware attempts so you can detect them yourself.
How Does Cybersecurity Awareness Training Help Employees?
If you’ve been a victim of cybercrime, you know the headache and stress it can cause. Criminals can use your information to do scary, damaging things. The good news? Many digital attacks are avoidable, as most are caused by human error. Training employees in cybersecurity awareness is critical for safeguarding their personal information and the company’s confidential data.
Online crime takes many forms. While employees’ work computers are targets, even employees’ personal phones and devices may contain company logins and internal information that hackers can hijack. Individuals benefit from cybersecurity awareness training because they learn how to keep their sensitive information private. Having the whole organization trained forms a united front against cybercriminals.
5 Top Cybersecurity Training Programs
Looking for programs to get started with? Not all cybersecurity awareness training programs are alike. The options below stand out for their ease of use and comprehensive teaching methods.
- Phished: Phished is a dynamic platform that merges automated phishing simulations with interactive cybersecurity training and education. It lets AI take over to keep organizations safe and secure.
- Proofpoint Security Awareness Training: Proofpoint offers several training modules, including USB testing simulations, phishing simulations and assessments. It updates content regularly to stay current.
- ESET: ESET is a top pick based on its efficient training program, extensive modules for customizing training and gamification to keep users engaged.
- Cofense: Cofense PhishMe uses a reactive phishing simulation that mimics real-life phishing attacks and identifies employees who can use help in detecting potential scams.
- SafeTitan: SafeTitan keeps instruction engaging, using brief and informative videos to hammer points home.
Consider starting your research by looking into these highly rated training programs.
