Cyber threats aren’t going away. Bad actors are constantly evolving and finding new ways to infiltrate IT systems. Businesses need to be proactive in their approach to cybersecurity.  With the most common cause of data breaches being attributed to human error, investing in a cyber awareness training program can help reduce your risk.

A cyber awareness training program essentially turns your employees into security watchdogs. While many attackers view your workforce as your weakest link, you can upend this strategy by arming them with knowledge. As a result, organizations of all sizes — and across all industries — can have a more robust overall security profile. Here are five specific benefits of cyber awareness training.

1. Improving Cyber Hygiene

Cyber hygiene involves practices that individuals and companies undertake to safeguard digital assets. Cyber awareness training can greatly reduce the chances of human error creating vulnerabilities in your security infrastructure. For instance, you can teach employees how to use secure complex passwords, how to react to phishing attacks, and the kinds of websites they should avoid visiting.

2. Reducing Threats

Your risk drastically shrinks when you implement cyber awareness training because you reduce the chances of employees falling susceptible to phishing emails. Since phishing is one of the primary attack vectors, making sure you train employees on how to not only spot phishing but how to avoid clicking on:

• Malicious links in emails,
• Suspicious spam and ads,
• Links to sites that may be harmful.

3. Preventing Downtime

A single attack can shut down operations for several hours — or longer — even one due to a relatively small mistake. But when your employees undergo cyber awareness training, they’re much less likely to fall prey to hackers.

For example, you can train your workers to never divulge financial information over email — not even if they think the sender is legitimate. Spear phishing is becoming increasingly more popular by cybercriminals because they can impersonate a trusted individual to get employees to act. By training on the right steps to take when requests like this come in, you drastically reduce the chances of a hacker using a spoofed email address to fool employees.

4. Staying Compliant

The overall compliance landscape is complex, and businesses must adhere to specific industry regulations to stay compliant. Often cyber awareness training is one component of these regulations. By teaching your employees industry-required training, you’ll not only help keep your business protected but also avoid any non-compliance penalties or fines.

5. Keeping Your Brand Reputation Pristine

Because a well-educated workforce reduces the chances of a cyberattack, it also reduces the possibility of a reputation-damaging incident. In a recent study, more than 58% of companies surveyed didn’t understand the reputational impact of a breach. By both explaining this connection and making sure employees know how to avoid attacks, you can safeguard your company’s reputation in your industry.

TPx can help improve your user security with cyber awareness training programs and email security tools. Don’t risk your business by not doing anything – you need to equip your workforce with tools and information for them to mitigate threats. Reach out to TPx today to learn how we can help keep your business protected.