We need to talk about cyber security awareness. The truth is that even relatively tech-savvy businesses are unaware of the increasing numbers of cyber threats they’re facing and how to defend against them. Cyber security teams are overworked and under pressure to protect company data while their fellow employees remain blissfully oblivious to the circling cyber wolves.
The solution is to build a culture of cyber awareness. That is, create an organization where everyone — at every level — has some awareness of major cyber risks, understands what’s at stake, and knows what they personally have to do to keep the company safe.
In this article we’ll talk about the importance of cyber security awareness, as well as five ways to create a culture of cyber security awareness in your organization.
Why Is Cyber Security Awareness So Important?
It’s no secret that cyber security risks are on the rise. Attacks like ransomware, phishing, and business email compromise are all growing in frequency and sophistication. Emerging technologies like generative AI and ransomware-as-a-service are giving cyber criminals powerful new tools.
At the same time, cyber security teams are struggling to keep up the fight. Nearly two-thirds of cyber experts say they’re understaffed, and 20% say it takes more than six months to fill roles with qualified professionals.
Cyber security is no longer something that can be handled by a small core of specialists while everyone else remains unaware. Companies today need to build cultures of cyber security awareness where everyone plays a role.
5 Ways to Create a Culture of Cyber Security Awareness
So how do you actually build a culture of cyber security awareness? The first thing to remember is that it’s an ongoing process, not something you can just put into place overnight. You’ll be constantly assessing and adapting your approach to make sure it’s working.
Here are five ways to build a culture of cyber security awareness.
Provide Engaging, Active Training
Asking your employees — especially non-tech employees — to sit through hours of dense lectures about cyber security threats and best practices is an excellent recipe for boredom, disengagement, and wasted time.
Instead, think about mixing traditional training sessions with more dynamic exercises like real-life scenario training where employees have to work together to deal with simulated cyber attacks. When done well, there’s a much higher chance that your team will actually remember the material than with lectures alone.
Have Leaders & Experts Embody Best Practices
One of your main tasks when it comes to cyber security awareness is to convince your employees that it’s worth taking seriously. Security teams and leaders should be constantly embodying the right attitude and habits for cyber security. They should lead by example, showing others that remaining alert and updated and doing the right things are essential.
If your non-security team members see security personnel and company leaders being careless — using weak passwords, not showing up to security meetings, or failing to update software — they’ll start to see security best practices as unimportant or pointless.
Play Games
It’s been shown time and again that gamification is a great way to encourage participation in new activities and keep people engaged. This applies to cyber security awareness training, too. Here are a few ideas:
- Award badges, prizes, or leaderboard points to employees who stick to security best practices
- Give rewards to the team members who take security seriously
- Organize events like hackathons to encourage security teams to solve problems and address persistent cyber security challenges
Gamification makes cyber awareness more enticing and fun and keeps team members on board when they might otherwise become disinterested.
Be Honest & Direct About Risks & Reasons Why
One of the best ways to build and nurture a culture of cyber security awareness is to be extremely clear about why it matters. Regular training, clear information documents, and a culture of encouraging questions are all key to making sure everyone in the company understands why security is so important for their own and everyone else’s safety.
Forcing your staff to comply with security actions “just because” is a sure fire way to lose their trust and prevent a culture of awareness from forming. After all, team members don’t appreciate being asked to embrace certain habits and best practices if they don’t fully understand the reasons why.
Work With the Right Partner
Building a culture of cyber security awareness is much easier when you have the support of a team of experts. At DYOPATH, we work with clients of all shapes and sizes, helping them embrace technology, reduce the load on their employees, and ramp up cyber security in all areas.
We can help you put together training plans and strategies to create a culture of cyber security awareness that permeates all levels of your organization and brings your teams together.
Reach out to us for a call if you’re interested in learning more.
