Cybersecurity in the workplace may be one of the most important systems you put in place. Though it is not possible to be 100% protected, educating your employees can bring you as close to that number as possible. By involving your employees in the cybersecurity protocol you convert them from potentially being the problem, to being a part of the solution.

Password Protection

More important than knowing how to make a strong password, is knowing to never share that password with another person or between log ins. What strength a password has, is automatically cancelled out once everyone knows it and can use it to access all your accounts.

Employees should know that complexity is more important than length when choosing a new password. A complex password includes uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols (as allowed by the account terms).

When creating complex passwords for each account you access you must have a secure place to store this information, the human brain can only do so much. Using a password manager allows your employees to securely store their passwords and have them instantly available when they are needed.

Sensitive Data Privacy

Ensure your employees are taught the value of keeping private information private, as this is an easy way for criminals to target your employees. Private information can be used to launch spam or phishing emails, blackmail, or extortion.

Data privacy should be strictly followed by all employees but more importantly by all employees in managerial or confidential positions.

Network Safety Awareness

Productivity has increased as a result of the growing trend of employees working remotely. However, these employees are frequently connecting to Wi-Fi networks in coffee shops, airports, hotels, and their own homes. This raises issues regarding the security of the networks being accessed and who may be accessing the same network and intercepting your employees work. This is called a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack.

On top of these attacks your employees need to be aware of rogue networks. Meaning the network your employees are connecting to may actually be a similarly-named fake network set up by a person attempting to log information and data from the network users.

Educating employees to be aware of what networks they are using is crucial in keeping private information secure and your company protected.

Identifying Possible Threats

Educating employees on how to identify a cybersecurity threat can save you and your company both money and peace of mind. Employees should be taught to at least practice caution when they observe suspicious activity. This can include:

• A random email asking for a donation from an unsolicited source
• A call from someone claiming to be an employee asking for information from an associate branch
• An innocent looking USB thumb drive found on company property

Threat Report Procedure

Training employees on what to do in response to a threat or breach allows them to be a part of the solution. Employees should know how to contact IT and create a report as well as to never attempt to deal with a threat or breach themselves.

Each year as technology progresses, so do the threats presented to companies. Follow these tips to help your company make it through another year safe.