Educating the Team: Wrapping Your Workplace in a Strong Security Blanket

Cyber security is an important issue in any business, but the more people that you have in a workplace, it becomes even more critical, as there are more potential opportunities for security breaches to occur.

If you talk to someone about virus security at atb-tech.com for example, they will soon reiterate just how vital it is to wrap your workplace in a strong security blanket, and this process includes educating your team on how to achieve compliance with the measures put in place.

Engaging your workforce in the debate

The reality of the modern business world is that everything in our lives is becoming more digital and as we pursue a personal and business life online, crime is attracted to that same pathway.

The problem for many businesses is that the very mention of cyber security at your meeting, seems to induce an instantly ambivalent attitude and the sense that this is a matter for the tech guy in IT and not really something that everyone needs to engage with.

In order to engage your workforce and understand the importance of practicing good cyber security, you need to paint a picture for them that shows why digital safety should be considered a hot topic that is worthy of group discussion.

Ask your workforce how many of them would leave their wallet lying around in a public place or leave the front door to their house open while they go to work?

This is basically the equivalent of what you are doing if you do not put good cyber security measures in place. Changing passwords every few months or so is not really going to be enough anymore, so get talking to your employees and build a strategy together.

The enemy within

As much as you would not want to contemplate the idea that someone within your own organization is responsible for a security breach, the reality is that the threat does sometime originate from within the business.

Before you start wondering who might be working against you amongst your workforce, it is important to emphasise that ignorance and negligence are often the main culprits, when someone inadvertently leaves the door open for cyber criminals to attack your system.

Everyone needs to be vigilant

It is very important to have regular discussions and issue frequent updates regarding cyber security issues, so that everyone within the business can exercise due diligence.

Executive management need to be included as much as all the other layers of the workforce, and in fact there is definite cause for concern that top managers are often targeted by cyber criminals.

Some of the reasons why key management figures are often targeted are that they will have access to more sensitive and valuable data, IT may not be as forceful with them about their security protocols, and if they hook up to the office while travelling, using the free hotel Wi-fi without encryption, can be just the opportunity the criminals are looking for.

Cooperation is the key

The best approach in order to get everyone within the business onside and pulling in the right direction, is to encourage a spirit of cooperation rather than just compliance with your security measures.

Your system is ultimately only as strong and secure as its weakest link, so everyone has to work together to avoid a breach and to keep the infrastructure as secure as it can possibly be,

Ongoing training

Many aspects of your business are constantly evolving and nothing really stays the same for too long, which is certainly the case when you are talking about cyber security.

Ongoing training and regular updates to maintain and increase awareness of potential threats, will often pay dividends when it comes to protecting the integrity of your system. If you aim to provide general security advice and training, this should keep everyone engaged, as learning useful security information and measures is something that can be applied personally as well as for the ebenfit of the business.

When an attack happens

Preventative measures are sometimes not enough to stop a successful cyber attack, so make sure that your workforce knows what to do in the event of an incident and how to spot a problem in the first place.

Have a specific set of procedures in place, in just the same way that you have an emergency fire drill that everyone knows.

Many businesses are constantly under threat from cyber criminals, and you need to make sure that your security blanket is strong enough to resist any attempt to compromise your data.

Madeleine Doyle has worked as a security analyst for the last couple of years. Happiest when surrounded by data, she also has to educate colleagues on security measures within the company.