Cyber attacks cost companies millions of dollars every year. In some cases, they even cause these businesses to close their doors for good.
Even if your company survives a cyber attack, your reputation will likely never be the same.
So, what can you do to create better employee security training?
In this post, we’re sharing some of our most important cyber security tips for employees with you.
From making sure you know what to look for in suspicious emails to understanding the risks associated with public WiFi, read on to protect your customers, your employees, and above all, your company.
1. Avoid Email Hacks and Scams
In a perfect world, your employees would never access their personal emails at work.
However, let’s get real — they will. The trick is, in both their work and personal emails, to ensure that they follow certain cyber security tips for employees when it comes to their emails.
First of all, they should never open up an email from an unfamiliar address while at work. It’s even more important that they refrain from clicking on links included in these emails. Often, when they click on these links, they end up the victim of a phishing scam.
This means your company’s data — and even personal emails — are now in the hands of hackers. To ensure that a link is “safe,” your employees should hover their mouse over the link without clicking on it.
That way, they’ll be able to see the link they’re actually being directed to.
What can you do in addition to taking the time to talk about safe ways to use both personal and professional email at work?
You should also have your team members read more about how to safely browse the Internet at work. Unsafe sites make it easy for hackers to spy on your browsers and even download malware to your entire network.
Avoid autosaving passwords on work computers, clear your cookies, and make sure they make those software updates ASAP.
2. Talk About WiFi Outside of the Office
In today’s work environment, remote workers and even work from home days are quickly becoming the norm.
It’s no secret that your team members certainly enjoy this level of freedom and flexibility — and that your company benefits from them.
However, you need to set some ground rules when it comes to computer security tips for work done outside of your office.
First of all, make sure your employees never leave their work computers in a public place. They should remain on their person at all times.
More importantly, you need to make it absolutely clear to your remote and flex workers that getting on public WiFi to access work documents is never acceptable. The truth is that it’s incredibly easy for hackers to get into your computer on public WiFi networks.
That guy who seems to be casually working behind you at the coffee shop? He could already be looking at a copy of your screen and stealing your client data.
3. Hire Professional Help
An astounding 70% of companies say that they’re in no way ready for a cyber attack.
If you’re concerned about your company’s ability to survive a hack or other security issue, then now is the time to get professional help. Hire an IT service, a cloud security provider, or even use a hosting platform with excellent security features.
Plus, professional services can protect you against attacks you didn’t even know existed. They’ll also comb through your site visitor logs, and look for suspicious activity and outside login attempts.
IT and security professionals are especially key if you have corporate network security compliance rules that you need to follow.
Even if you think you’re following these regulations, there are often gaps in your policy — that you’ll be held responsible for if the worst happens.
4. Get Serious About Your Password Policy
Are your passwords — or those of your employees — on this list of the most common ones?
If so, now is the time to change them.
However, your employee security training should focus on creating a much stronger password policy than simply avoiding popular options.
Instruct your team members to change their passwords at least once a month. Ensure that they don’t use the same password for multiple accounts. They also shouldn’t reuse old passwords.
5. Have Frequent Meetings About Your Security Policies
What is one of the best ways to make sure that the computer security training for employees that you’ve implemented is actually followed? Have frequent meetings with your team where you go over the rules.
You can also use this opportunity to discuss new threats with your employees. Additionally, this is a time where your team members can ask questions about parts of the policy they don’t understand.
We suggest having mandatory cyber security training at least once per year. You can have these meetings once a quarter to serve as a refresher.
Make These Cyber Security Tips for Employees Standard
We hope that this post has helped you to better understand the best cyber security tips for employees.
Remember to ensure everyone on your team understands your security and compliance expectations. Work with IT professionals to get out in front of new threats.
Above all, have a disaster recovery plan in place. This way, even if the worst happens, you’ll be prepared.
Looking for more IT and security advice? Want to learn even more ways to protect your office?
We’ve got you covered. Keep checking back with our blog to ensure you don’t miss any important information.
