Training your employees with security awareness training

Modern companies today, as a matter of course, insure their assets. A good insurance policy offers protection against losses of equipment and possible damage to buildings due to accidents and acts of God and nature. One can place a monetary value on machinery and the like; but how can you estimate the value of years of information that would potentially be lost in the process of a computer being stolen, for example?

Providing risk management and the insurance afforded by the prevention of the loss of data, is of paramount importance. Information loss could be caused by many factors apart from the physical theft of a hard drive. Employees need security awareness training as part of a risk-management strategy.

To prevent the loss of too many man-hours, one could embark on the training of employees per department or function within the company. Training needs should be graded in terms of the importance of the information attached to the employees’ specific functions within the company. It is important, however, that all employees buy-in to the importance of security awareness. Responsibility for security must be carried by all staff members, from the cleaners to top management.

Companies can embark on their own training of lower-level staff and employ the services of a training company to train higher-level staff. Many security companies offer online training. The company may make use of video training and download manuals in hard copy format for employees to use for review purposes at home. Once the training has been completed, staff members could take assessment courses to attain certification in recognition of their having achieved the completion of the training course.

Most companies that offer training will assist management in the drawing up of a security policy tailor-made to suit the needs of the particular industry or company. As part of this policy, all sensitive information will be password-protected, backed up and safely stored. The policy should include the consequences of transgressions to ensure that employees realize just how important it is to comply. While breaches should be punished, reward systems also encourage compliance. Supervisors could be tasked with the awarding of points and rewards for compliance over a set period of time.

Once your staff has received security awareness training, it would be sensible to continue your company’s relationship with the service provider you used for the training. Most companies offer monthly newsletters and e-mails as part of their ongoing service. In this way you would be alerted to any new dangers which may have arisen and also access information on new virus protection systems and software as they come onto the market.

It is wise to remember that hackers spend their lives trying to find ways to “beat” the protection systems employed, with the intention of stealing information or merely corrupting your access to such information, as a cruel joke. By using the services of a security company, you will receive advice from professionals to stay ahead of the cyber criminals out there.