Your best defense is training your employee

Cyber criminals are developing new security threats as well as identity theft every day. It has been observed that large organizations are continuously investing good amount of money to keep their data, network, infrastructure and identity safe.

Do you think it is enough? Do you think this could keep them safe and secure? This of course cannot ensure the complete safety and security unless their biggest asset their employee does not understand their role in the security assurance.

Even if the organization has strict security policies and employees to manage policies, they are not as secure as they could be. The employees can unknowingly create security issues if they are not made aware of it. There are number of ways an employee can pose security risks –

•  Easy passwords may increase the risk of network attack.
•  Improper control of systems, laptops and mobile devices can lead to the loss of proprietary information.
•  Failure to update virus software may cause the infection of one or many systems.
•  Surfing the web and downloading files from the internet can reduce network bandwidth and loss of worker productivity.
•  Clicking suspicious link can carry out phishing attack by gaining unauthorized access to the victim’s personal and financial information.
•  Clicking suspicious link can also download malware to victim’s system or redirect to hacker’s website
•  Phishing emails can reach employees directly from an attacker pretending as CEO or any other employee which can cause employee to reveal the sensitive information unconsciously.

However, with the right training, employees can avoid such mistakes and become an organization’s strongest security asset. A security awareness program enables organizations to improve their security posture by offering employees the knowledge they need to better protect the organization’s information through proactive, security-conscious behaviors.

To successfully protect information assets, employees at every level – from the top down – need a basic understanding of security policies as well as their respective responsibilities in protecting these assets.