5 Ways to Improve Staff Cyber Awareness

Strong CEO Leadership 

As the number of high-profile cyber breaches continues to rise, there has been a greater emphasis placed on the management of cyber security risks in order to reduce the chances of attack. 

Whilst cyber security is everyone's responsibility organisations still require a strong leader. If a company's CEO is taking cyber awareness seriously, this will resonate within the organisation helping to create a culture of enhanced security awareness. 

Security Awareness Training      

Cyber security awareness training is essential for your staff as it will teach them how to identify and respond appropriately to the growing range of cyber threats. Employees at every level should receive the same training to ensure they have the skills required to identify threats when they occur. Training should be engaging as well as informative so that staff understand what is required of them.   

Knowing your Organisational Tolerances 

In order to create a strong cyber security awareness program, you need to evaluate your organisation's threat landscape and identify the biggest risks. In doing so you will gain a better understanding of real world threats that could compromise the security posture of your business.  

Your risk tolerance needs to be clearly defined so that the appropriate security measures can be implemented based on the actual threats faced, thus avoiding the possibility of resources being directed at threats that are unlikely to occur or that will have no significant impact on your business. 

Taking the time to properly identify risks can go a long way in shaping the effectiveness of your cyber security awareness program. 

Defending your Assets 

In order to create a comprehensive cyber security strategy, you need to identify your organisation's assets. An asset is something that is of significant value to your company such as financial information, or personally identifiable information (PII). 

You need to determine what your most valuable assets are, where they are located and who has access to them. Each asset should be classified (public or confidential) and protected based on its value. Areas should be prioritised based on the level of defence they need.  

Once you’ve determined how each area could be compromised you can take the correct steps to reduce the chances of a cyber criminal gaining access to critical systems. 

Always be Prepared for Data Breaches 

You need to make sure that your organisation is prepared for a data breach at any time. The average global cost of a data breach has risen to roughly $3.92 million or £2.88 million.  

It’s no longer a case of ‘if’ your organisation is attacked but ‘when’. Preparations need to be made for the inevitable and plans put in place to ensure that appropriate action is taken when security is breached.  

Establishing an effective response plan is essential in educating and informing staff and reducing the financial or reputational damage following a breach. 

You should regularly test your incident response plan to identify any areas of weakness and to ensure that your staff understands their responsibilities in preparing for and responding to an attack. 

What can Securiwiser offer you organisation? 

Securiwiser will provide you with round the clock, comprehensive monitoring of your devices, network and website to ensure that your security posture remains strong. If any abnormal behaviour in your systems occurs you will receive a detailed report outlining the problem and be given information on how to remedy the situation and where to get help if it is something you can’t mitigate yourself.