The weakest link in your company’s cyber security are your employees. Once their defenses are down it is fairly easy for malicious hackers to steal confidential information or leak personal data that you store. We see that many companies are aware of this and take measures to prevent this from happening. Firewalls, antivirus software, email filters are used among others to harden the infrastructure and companies move to the cloud to feel more secure. Next to these technologies employees are trained to recognize threats. E-learning modules and security awareness campaigns are well known measures to also improve the security of your human firewalls. Nevertheless, phishing attacks have never been used so much nowadays because of its effectiveness. Therefore, employees still receive phishing emails in their mailbox and still put their guards down once seduced. With devastating impact on your company.
Most programs that improve the security awareness of employees are in simulation or take place outside daily work-routine. This is the reason why employees are still vulnerable at the moment it really matters: when a phishing email comes in. At this crucial moment you want to have your employees supported to act secure. This means warning them that they (and the company) are in danger, support them with tools to trigger their awareness and provide them with the right instructions to escalate the situation and to warn other workers. At the same time, your security department should be informed timely to take follow-up actions.
Empowering your employees is a key element in your cyber security strategy. Most of us already know that. But empowering at the moment it matters, matters the most.
