Individual employees are the last line of defense in the IT security of companies. In addition to technical precautions, further training and permanent sensitization of employees is an important protective factor against cyber risks. As part of an employee awareness program, all employees in your company – from CEOs to interns – are sensitized to cyber risks and the correct way to deal with suspicions.
In everyday work, it happens quickly: an e-mail attachment is opened because it seems to contain the invoice of a service provider. But it is malware that can encrypt the entire network and make it unusable (ransomware). If your employees are sensitized to this method of cybercriminals, they will check such emails more critically and thus prevent cyber incidents. A customer’s USB stick is also quickly connected to the work computer to transfer a document. But without the knowledge of the customer, there is a malware program on the USB stick that cybercriminals could use to spy on data traffic. If employees are sensitized, they first check third-party UBS sticks with a virus program, which in most cases finds the malware and renders it harmless.
Ideally, regular training courses are held to raise awareness among employees. Specialized service providers are a good place to start in order to cover as many aspects of IT security as possible. Digital learning systems have also proven their worth. These can be used more flexibly by employees than a fixed training date. But every measure improves cybersecurity compared to the current status. In the time until professional employee awareness is raised, you can already identify important starting points for your company and take measures that are easy to implement.
Examples could be:
