How can you promote cyber security awareness in the workplace?

Robust cyber security measures start, primarily, with the promotion of cyber security awareness of common and emerging threats in the workplace.

As a CISO and cyber security decision-maker, it is your responsibility to ensure that your organisation's employees are well-equipped to identify and mitigate potential cyber risks.

In this article, we will discuss effective strategies to foster a culture of cyber security awareness in the workplace, which will ultimately help you fortify your organisation's defences against cyber threats.

1. Cyber security training

A key aspect of promoting cyber security awareness is providing comprehensive training programs to employees. Many cyber security partners downplay the importance of cyber security training, but it is fundamental both for induction purposes and refresher courses on regular threats and brand-new ones.

When you offer regular training sessions covering essential topics such as phishing, strong passwords, and ransomware – you keep employees well-informed about the latest threats and best practices. As a result, you empower them to make informed decisions and contribute to a more secure workplace.

According to a recent survey conducted by XYZ Research, organisations that provide regular cyber security training to their employees experience a 60% reduction in security incidents.

2. Develop a secure culture

Create a culture where cyber security is prioritised by embedding it into the organisation's core values. How can you do this? Firstly, you should encourage employees to report any suspicious activities promptly and without fear of repercussions.

Secondly, you should set up a security advocate/champions program to recognise and reward individuals who actively contribute to the security of the organisation, reinforcing the importance of cyber security throughout the workplace and highlighting the behaviours you want repeated and the ones you want ditched.

It can be difficult to spot the gaps in your security infrastructure from within; this is why you should work with a tried, tested, and trusted cyber security partner with experience running organisation-wide behavioural surveys that spots gaps in behaviour, hardware, and policies, whilst also positioning targeted materials to deal with said irregularities.

3. Regular communication

You have delivered cyber security training focused on the threats your organisation’s employees face and you have backed that up with culture initiatives for long-term gain … but you need to support both with regular communications to stay in collective workforce consciousness.

Firstly, develop clear and concise security policies and ensure they are always readily accessible to all employees. Then, regularly communicate policy updates and reinforce them through various channels, such as email newsletters, intranet portals, or posters displayed in office/communal areas. You want your principles to seep into the subconscious of your employees.

4. Simulations and gamification

Threat-based simulations provide practical examples of potential threats and help employees recognise the warning signs in a safe and controlled environment, as opposed to a real-world domain where the consequences and ramifications can be extremely detrimental to your organisation.

For instance, if your employees will be spending time in the metaverse or virtual worlds for business purposes, why not deploy a game like ‘Reality Check’ to drop your employees into a simulated virtual world to test out threat detection and avoidance, before they jump into the real (virtual) world.

Research also reveals that when we gamify cyber security training and awareness courses, you widen the potential effectiveness of your courses, whilst also making the training far more accessible to demographics that learn differently.

Conclusion

Promoting cyber security awareness in the workplace is a continuous effort that requires the commitment and involvement of every employee but these fundamentals – cyber security training, focusing on culture change, consistent communication, and gamification – need to be considered by you.

Remember, cyber security is a shared responsibility, and by instilling a culture of cyber security awareness, you can protect your organisation's valuable assets and ensure a safer digital environment for the long term.

Implement these strategies with TSC and together we can create a more secure future.

If you would like more information about how The Security Company can deliver engaging and effective cyber security training and awareness materials for organisations of all sizes or how we can run a behavioural survey to pinpoint gaps in your security armour ... please contact our Head of Business Development and Sales,  Jenny Mandley.

The Security Company's vast library of customised and non-customised products and services are tailored for small, medium and large organisations and are available in a variety of languages. We also offer bespoke solutions for organisations that desire training and awareness materials built from the ground up.