In today’s ever evolving business technology landscape, it is not only important for the IT staff and business owners to understand how cyberattacks begin, but also the employees.
Social engineering and email phishing remain the most widely used methods for cyber criminals to gain access to company data or install malicious software. In fact, 91% of successful data breaches start with a spear phishing attack.
What security weak link do these attacks all exploit? The employees, and they are the last line of defense against a cyber-attack.
Untrained employees present the greatest risk to a business’ cybersecurity, they need to be trained and remain vigilant about spotting social engineering and email phishing attempts.
Social engineering and email phishing are responsible for 70% to 90% of security breaches. Unpatched software is responsible for 20% to 40% of malicious data breaches. All other types of computer crime (e.g., password attacks, eavesdropping, misconfiguration, insider attacks, etc.) amount to just 1% to 10% of malicious data breaches. There is nothing else that matters as much to reduce cybersecurity risk as focusing on defeating social engineering and email phishing.
That is why it is critical for businesses and organizations to provide Employee Awareness Training to educate employees on how to spot spoofed emails or identify web links and pages designed to appear as a trusted social media or online banking site.
When employees learn that social engineering is the biggest cyber risk their organization faces, they usually understand why it is important they help fight it.
Employee Awareness Training involves sending simulated phishing emails to employees and then educating them on best practices when responding to such emails. Employees can then take these lessons and apply them in their everyday roles to properly respond to the actual threats that arrive in their inbox.
Not only does it provide ongoing security training, but it also reinforces lessons, creates situational awareness and helps employees and IT gauge the effectiveness of their overall security awareness program.
Is your business or organization looking to conduct Employee Awareness Training? Contact Miken Technologies today.
