Cybersecurity is more important than ever before. Statistics predict that by 2025 an estimated 75 billion devices will be connected to the internet. That leaves a lot of room for security breaches for individuals and companies alike.

Security breaches often occur because someone unknowingly downloads malware or doesn’t recognize a scam. Staff training, therefore, is an essential part of cybersecurity in any organization. Employees need to understand the possible risks and how to avoid them.

While one annual training was previously enough, threats have become so sophisticated that it is necessary to take a different approach. Organizations must constantly provide updated information about the latest vulnerabilities so that staff members are aware of them. Here are five ways to improve cybersecurity hygiene in your company.

Use Live-Fire Training

Live-fire training is the best way to provide employees with a realistic cyber breach experience. These exercises offer simulated attacks specific to their jobs.

These attacks may appear to come from an outside vendor or from someone within the company. After participating in these exercises, staff members are asked what they learned and how the situation could impact the business. They should also understand how these attacks might affect them personally and what they can do to prevent falling victim to them.

Finally, you should implement training several times throughout the year. Make sure they reach all staff members across all departments and targets the types of attacks they might encounter in their jobs.

Implement Cyber Awareness From the Beginning

Cyber awareness should begin during the onboarding process for each employee. This helps build the right mindset for dealing with possible cyberattacks. Those staff members who have been with the company for a long time should receive regular training. It’s not just good practice: that way, they can help newcomers understand the cybersecurity policies and procedures.

Evaluate Systems and Employees to Check for Vulnerabilities

Regularly evaluate all systems and staff members to determine your level of vulnerability and give you an understanding of the cybersecurity health of your organization. Evaluations also remind employees about the different ways they can avoid cyberattacks, which is a great opportunity to build a positive cybersecurity culture and keep prevention at the forefront of their minds.

Strengthen Your Cybersecurity With a VPN

Use a virtual private network (VPN) to keep your company’s network more secure. This keeps outsiders from getting in and protects information employees exchange with one another.

A VPN encrypts the data transmitted between the server and all your organization’s devices. Requiring all staff members to log onto the VPN creates another layer of security and awareness.

Create a Cybersecurity Plan

You need a plan for communicating information about cybersecurity to all employees. That way, everyone understands industry and company best practices and why they continuously need training.

Strong communication helps eliminate confusion and encourages people to work together, which in turn creates a more secure workplace.

Host a Cybersecurity Best Practices Session

Last but not least, host an engaging session with your staff highlighting common cyber threats and what they can do to protect against them. If you don’t have a good person in-house to present on this topic, our security experts are doing “townhall” sessions on proper cybersecurity hygiene completely for free, no catch. Interested? Contact us!