Security Awareness Training

Security Awareness Training

Is your staff a cybersecurity asset, or a cybersecurity liability? Security awareness training services are by far the most effective way to defend your organization from social engineering tactics like phishing.

A majority of cybersecurity solutions offered today include the best in vital software, from firewalls to anti-malware to data encryption and more. However, as important as this technology is, on its own, it simply isn’t enough.

The key to truly comprehensive cybersecurity is simple, yet often overlooked: the user.

The best cybersecurity technology and practices in the world can be undone by one staff member who doesn’t understand how to use them, or how to protect the data they work with. Do you know if your staff is putting your organization at risk?

3 Cybercrime Scams That Target Your Unaware Users

Phishing

Phishing is a method in which cybercriminals send fraudulent emails that appear to be from reputable sources in order to get recipients to reveal sensitive information and execute significant financial transfers.

Phishing attacks are mass emails that request confidential information or credentials under pretenses, link to malicious websites, or include malware as an attachment.

With only a surprisingly small amount of information, cybercriminals can convincingly pose as business members and superiors in order to persuade employees to give them money, data, or crucial information.

The average phishing attack costs businesses $1.6 million. The problem with the rising tide of cybercrime incidents is that you get desensitized to the whole thing. The fact is that businesses aren’t learning to protect themselves, which is why the number of reported phishing attacks has gone up by 65% in the past few years.

Ransomware

In a ransomware attack, an unsuspecting user clicks on a seemingly safe link, or emailed attachment that appears to be a bill or other official document. Instead, the attachment installs a malicious software program (malware) onto the computer system that encrypts the data and holds it at ransom.

The user is then stuck without access to their data, and faced with paying the attacker a huge sum. According to Coveware’s Q4 Ransomware Marketplace report:

• The average ransomware payout is $84,116
• The highest ransom paid by a target organization was $780,000
• The average ransomware attack results in 16.2 days of downtime

Malicious Websites

Hackers can create fake websites that are set up to look like a real site, but the spelling of the URL or site name contains an error that is easily made by users. For example, an attacker may set up a site with the name “www.gooogle.com” instead of www.google.com.

Users who are not careful may type in an extra ‘o’ in the name and will land on the fake site. From here, the site will record all of the information that you enter into any text or password boxes, which the cybercriminal will then use against you.

Schilling IT Will Train Your Staff In Cybersecurity Best Practices

Security awareness training helps your employees learn how to recognize and avoid being victimized by phishing emails and scam websites. They learn how to handle security incidents when they occur, which is a key aspect of any effective defense. If your employees are informed about what to watch for, how to block attempts, and where they can turn for help, this alone is worth the investment.

Our Security Awareness Training services offer exercises, interactive programs, and even simulated phishing attacks to test your staff on a number of key areas:

• How to spot phishing emails.
• How to use business technology securely.
• How to act when a cybercrime attack is underway.

Your staff can have a significant effect on your cybersecurity – either they know enough to keep your assets secure, or they don’t, and therefore present a serious threat to your security.

Remember: there is no perfect technological solution that will save you from cybercrime’s social engineering techniques. It all comes down to you (and the other users at your business), and how capable you are at spotting a scam when it comes into your inbox.