Wondering how you can get your staff passionate about security? You’re certainly not alone. It truly takes a team effort to stay ahead of hackers and data breaches. Without clear investment from your employees, it can be difficult if not impossible to do what needs to be done. But gaining that commitment from employees is as simple as following the Three Es of Data Security. Those Es include educating the team on the importance of data security, enabling them to make the right choices, and enforcing policies to make sure it’s clear how much of a priority to the business data security really is. Here’s a look at what that might mean for your team.
Education
One of the most difficult aspects of the battle between businesses and hackers is the ongoing one-upmanship between hackers and protectors. Criminals will do everything in their power to create smarter and more customizable programs that can do the most damage possible. Of course, security professionals are trained to meet those challenges head-on, but, as hackers get more involved with industry-disrupting technologies, the security software you invest in, may simply not be keeping pace.
In light of that, you should make sure that you are not opting out of essential digital security elements, but also educate your team to be smart, remain vigilant, and report an issue quickly so as to help mitigate the damage a cyber-attack might result in. Make sure your team has been trained on the security policy and protocols in place. Take the time to regularly refresh their training too. Don’t think that one brief session on data security in their onboarding process is enough to keep your business safe. Invest in education on a yearly basis and provide opportunities for further learning along the way.
Enablement
There are several basic precautions that can make a big impact on your overall digital security. But not all individuals have experience or training in maintaining a strong and protected online presence. Teach your team not to visit questionable websites when on the company’s internet. Make sure they know not to tamper with any firewall settings or anti-virus software. Tell them that if they don’t recognize the sender of an iffy email, they should not open the attachment. Encourage them to report any issues immediately and with confidence, that action will be taken. A simple understanding of the vulnerabilities we face online, day in and day out, can make a significant difference.
Using the same password across multiple accounts (both personal and professional) can make your network that much easier to hack. Similarly, not changing passwords often enough will leave you and your network vulnerable. Password complexity is important, but usage patterns can lead to risk all on their own. Don’t let your team think that data security is IT’s job to cover. It is their actions that will most likely lead to risk and data loss, so make sure everyone has access to the tools (consider Password Managers for example) they need to do the job right.
Enforcement
The increase in cybersecurity concerns calls for an increase in cybersecurity awareness across all levels of the business. Best practices such as these should become second nature to your staff and should be woven in to the workplace culture as a whole. It takes focus and effort every day to make sure you and your employees are making the right decisions when it comes to your digital security. But a strong security culture can help support that effort more than any software program or un-guessable password. Sharing the knowledge needed to educate employees about the risks involved with cloud storage, data security, and malware protection, partnered with taking the necessary precautions to protect the security of the company is the first step toward building a strong culture of security.
Enforcement of the policies is the next step. Make sure that employees know and understand the consequences of their actions relating to data security. Security should be everyone’s responsibility, so stay vigilant and follow through on the necessary repercussions to protect your business in the long term.
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