No small business is an exemption when it comes to the growing threat of hacking and cyberattacks today, and every small business should remember this when it comes to putting strategies in place to protect their company. Cybercriminals don’t make exceptions when it comes to choosing where to attack next, and small businesses are often at the highest risk because unlike the bigger companies, they do not tend to have such strong security measures in place and are therefore usually easier to infiltrate. Educating employees about potential cyber breaches, how to spot them and what to do if they suspect an attack is one of the most effective ways to protect your company. When everybody can work together to keep your business safe, security will be tightened significantly. So, what should employee education look like?
Work with Professionals
Outsourcing cybersecurity to a managed IT services company can be very useful for your business in several ways. Not only will you be able to rely on experienced professionals who are paid to look after the security of your business rather than having the most tech-savvy staff do the work, but they can also provide expert education to your employees. Many IT companies do not only offer general IT support and cybersecurity, but can also provide or recommend employee training programs.
Include Cybersecurity in Onboarding
It is always best to get your new employees educated on cybersecurity in your company as soon as possible, which may entail making cybersecurity a key part of the onboarding process. Take the time to review your current onboarding process and if necessary, adjust it to include cybersecurity education. It’s important that every new employee has an early understanding of the seriousness of cyberthreats to your business and knows what they should do if they suspect that a breach has taken place or is about to take place.
Offer Guidance
The truth is that many people simply do not realize the impact that they might have when it comes to a cyberattack. When setting passwords, for example, many individuals consider what will be easy to remember rather than thinking about how easy it would be for somebody to guess the password. Guide your employees on setting strong passwords that use multiple character sets, at least eight characters, no complete words, and never shared. Another area where you can offer some guidance is phishing emails, which might look just like a regular email at first glance.
Make it a Priority
With the cybercrime threat to small businesses growing, cybersecurity education for employees should never be an afterthought. Mandatory cybersecurity education that is treated as a priority should always be the way forward for your business. Make sure that your employees are given regular training to ensure that their knowledge is up to date since cybersecurity is constantly changing as the criminals become more sophisticated.
For small businesses, the best line of defense against cybercrime and hacking attacks is often a well-educated, well-prepared workforce. With cyberattacks on small businesses becoming more frequent, educating your employees from the start is one of the best strategies that you can take.
