Most company training programs leave out important IT security information. Are you at risk?

Workers are the first and the weakest link in the security chain (including your boss), especially if they have not received adequate training to defend themselves against cyber-attackers. Sadly, if malware were to sieve into an employee’s Smartphone or mobile device it could potentially cost a company more than 8,000 euros. This is the beginning of the end, and opens the door for cyber-thieves to steal massive amounts of sensitive information from your company.

There are some basic tips that every company should give their employees to keep their personal data and computers protected against cybercriminals, like: confirming the identity of anyone requesting information, keeping passwords secure, and backing up their computer. Alarmingly, organizations are neglecting to share this security-related knowledge with their employees, as seen in a recent study.

46% of the companies who participated in the study assumed that this type of preparation or formation would be obligatory for all employees. But in fact, only 60% of the companies that have fallen victim to information theft oblige their workers to go through a learning period, which would educate them on internet security and ensure that confidential data will not be compromised.

As shown in a study, less than half of companies assumed that IT security training is obligatory for businesses

Sadly, for the companies who do have “training” programs, there is a lot of important information left out. In fact, many security training periods only educate workers about basic IT procedures. Approximately 43% of the surveyed companies offer a basic course for their employees, and usually they do not address many of the risks that often lead to cyber-attacks.

Phishing and social engineering are two main threats in our cyber-sphere, but only a small fraction (49%) of companies review them in their security courses. In addition, two significant topics that are barely talked about (if they’re talked about at all) at these training programs are: mobile device security (38% of courses include this subject) and Cloud security accounts (29%).

Knowledge is power. It is the greatest barrier against these type of internet-related attacks; the nightmare of a cyber-attack can be easily prevented if employees are taught how to use the internet in a responsible manner. Bots or no bots, when it comes to cyber-security strategies, humans are still a company’s greatest weakness or their greatest strength. Everything depends on the level of training that is available to them.