Five reasons why cybersecurity awareness is crucial for employees

Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report shows 74% of data breaches were caused by human error, including social engineering attacks, errors and misuse by employees, according to Total IT.

An employee’s lack of cybersecurity awareness can lead to significant financial and reputational damage for a company, so it is vital to educate employees regarding the importance of cybersecurity and their role in protecting company information.

Total IT shares the following reasons to prioritize cybersecurity awareness among your employees.

• Protection against phishing attacks and insider threats. Phishing scams are a common form of cyberattack where attackers trick employees into sharing sensitive information, such as login credentials or financial data. Educating your employees regarding how to identify and report phishing attempts can help prevent these attacks from succeeding.
• Safeguarding sensitive data. Employees often handle sensitive data such as customer information and financial records, so you can prevent accidental exposure by educating them regarding proper data handling.
• Ensuring regulatory compliance. Regulatory bodies require organizations to implement proper security measures to protect sensitive data. When employees are educated regarding compliance, you can avoid costly penalties and maintain your customers’ trust.
• Encouraging a culture of security. By promoting cybersecurity awareness among employees and creating a culture of security within your company, you give employees a sense of responsibility and accountability and help prevent cyberattacks.
• Reducing security incidents and downtime. A successful cyberattack can cause significant downtime for your business, so having employees who will not fall prey to scams reduces the likelihood of potential downtime and its effects.

As you consider how to raise cybersecurity awareness among your employees, be sure you conduct regular training sessions; provide simulated phishing attacks; create a security policy; encourage reporting of suspicious activity; and lead by example to ensure you and upper management also are educated regarding cybersecurity protocols.

To help contractors address cyber liability risk, NRCA has partnered with BPM Insurance Services and Acrisure to create NRCA’s Cyber Liability Insurance Program. 

Date : Jan. 01, 0001