Why You SHOULD Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth!
We all know the story of the Trojan Horse. Even after a 10-year siege, the Greeks could not successfully invade the impregnable city of Troy, so they built a giant wooden horse as a parting gift, stood it in front of the city gate and appeared to leave.
The generals of Troy said “Whew, I’m glad that’s over, let’s check out the free wooden horse”, and brought it into the city. But inside the horse was the Greek version of SEAL Team 6. Odysseus and his 40 men snuck out, opened the gates and the Greek army conquered Troy.
Your network is like that:
Networks are like castles, but instead of moats and high stone walls, they have Firewalls and Anti-Virus: Great protections, but they are useless if someone from the inside lowers the drawbridge for the invaders. Your Managed IT Services provider erected your network defenses to be as impenetrable as possible, but they cannot stand over every employee to make sure they’re not falling for a Phishing scam and clicking or opening a malicious link or attachment in an email.
The weakest link in your network defenses are your own employees, although they would never intentionally cripple your business and force it to the brink of ruin. They are busy and may not be taking the time to consider the danger when they open email attachments or click links in innocent looking emails. That is what hackers want them to do. Your employee ‘click’s and the crooks are inside your system, wreaking havoc.
Users don’t just need a one-time training, because they forget that they need to be on their guard constantly. Your employees need ongoing reinforcement.
Make it Fun and They Will Remember
IT Support LA offers extremely inexpensive Cybersecurity Awareness training that uses 3 – 4 minute engaging videos with Hollywood production values that empower your employees to become active defenders against the growing army of Cyber Criminals that threaten your business.
Learning and retaining the knowledge they need will be fun with:
ANIMATED EPISODES
3-4 minutes long, released every month
REAL BREACHES
Lessons based on real companies who have suffered a significant breach
ENGAGE VIEWERS
We emotionally connect with your employees in the first scene of every episode
HOLLYWOOD STORYTELLING
Each episode is written by a former writer of CSI: NY
FRIENDS & FAMILY USE RIGHTS
Add 7 friends and family members at no cost
GAMIFICATION TECHNIQUES
Competition encourages engagement
Cybersecurity Awareness Training Q & A
Q: Why do we need security awareness?
A: Because there is a difference between intelligence and knowledge. We presume you hire intelligent employees, but if they do not possess the knowledge that enables them to spot anomalies that may indicate a malicious email, they can easily fall into the Phishing trap.
This goes for all areas of Cybersecurity. Do your smart employees know how to create strong passwords? Do they know the simplest ‘security hygiene’ steps that should be second nature as they go about their routines?
If you answered those questions “No” or “I don’t know” – you need security awareness training for your employees. This is not just an issue for your IT Support – it’s a team effort.
Q: How effective is security awareness training?
A: It is not just about what happens on the computer itself. Sensitive information left on post-a-notes in an easily accessible office is an issue, as are patient charts laying unattended at the reception desk in a medical office, and devices such as laptops or cell phones in danger of being lost or stolen. These topics must be covered:
Email scams
Malware
Password security
Removable media
Safe internet habits
Social networking dangers
Physical security and environmental controls
Clean desk policy
Data management and privacy
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies
Q: How do you test employees’ security awareness?
A: There are a few standard ways to measure the effectiveness of security awareness training that range from actual testing to playing safe ‘Cyber War Games’ on your staff. While there are professional companies that do nothing but user security training, most reputable Managed Services Providers offer
this training, although some outsource the services for an additional fee. We at
IT Support LA offer training seminars free of charge to our clients, although
there is a small fee for the more frequent series of training videos noted above.
Quizzes – Not too long and tedious - people hate pop=quizzes
Workplace Security Review - Ongoing
Dumpster Diving – Is important information showing up in the trash?
Pretext Phone Calls – Can a slick phone caller get info from your employees?
Physical Impersonation – Send in an imposter.
Flash Drive Drop Attack Test – Drop a flash drive on the floor and see who plugs it in to see what it is (guess what? It’s a simulated virus).
Phishing Attack Simulation – See who clicks or opens a suspicious link or
attachment in an email.
Q: How often should you conduct security awareness training programs?
A: It is recommended to provide ongoing training every 4 to 6 months. Users need regular reinforcement and updates on the latest scam trends. Your IT support, whether an internal IT support department or outsourced IT services
(preferably Managed IT services) should have some level of involvement in these training sessions. In between trainings, the company you contract with for training, or your IT services vendor should run the Cyber ‘War Games’ as noted in the above Q & A.
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