There is no question that cybersecurity is a critical issue for businesses of all sizes. With cybercrime on the rise, ensuring your employees are properly trained in cybersecurity is more important than ever.
According to the 2021 Thales Data Threat Report, nearly half (45%) of U.S. companies suffered a data breach in the past year, while another study has found that employee mistakes cause a whopping 88% of data breaches.
These studies show that the number of cyberattacks and data breaches will only increase if businesses don’t take action.
In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of cybersecurity training and why it is so important for businesses.
MyComputerCareer is an accredited online and in-campus technical college that has taught thousands of people about the ins and outs of cybersecurity. If you want to learn more about our IT programs and certificates, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Why should companies consider cybersecurity training programs for employees?
Most data breaches nowadays involve some kind of human error. This is why organizations should train their staff to avoid social engineering attacks in order to secure their resources for conducting business and engaging with customers.
Since people are, in most cases, the main targets of cyber attackers, the only effective defense against malware, phishing attacks, and other cyber attacks is cybersecurity awareness training for employees.
The main benefits of cybersecurity training are:
1. Increased security
Although obvious, the main reason for cyber security training is greater data protection.
Cybersecurity training helps to increase employee awareness about potential threats and security risks. By teaching them how to recognize and respond to cyber threats, employers can significantly reduce the risk of a data breach in their organization.
If your employees are uninformed about the capabilities of cyberattackers, one minute could cost you a fortune. A lot can happen when employees check their emails on their mobile devices using a public wi-fi network, for example.
However, a data breach is less likely to happen if all of your employees take the same security measures.
2. Ensures compliance with IT regulations
Cybersecurity is not just about protecting confidential data but also about ensuring compliance with industry regulations and standards.
With cyber security training, companies can ensure that all of their employees are aware of and follow the industry’s latest IT security regulations.
Having all the methods, processes, tools, and systems in line with mandatory regulations and industry recommendations does wonders for business reputation and sends a message that your company is employing the highest-quality solutions available.
3. Saves time and money
Proper cyber security awareness training can save business owners time and money by reducing the risk of data breaches and other cyberattacks that can be expensive to remediate.
According to the recent IBM Security report, the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. alone is $9.44 (the highest of any country in the world). For most businesses, it’s not if a breach will happen but when.
IBM Security also reports that it takes, on average, 287 days to identify and contain a data breach, and security breaches get more costly as time goes on.
If an attack were to happen, your team would spend significant time attempting to fix the problem and mitigate the damage. All of this could be avoided with cybersecurity training.
4. Improves employee productivity
Having a strong IT infrastructure not only makes your organization more secure – it also helps to improve employee productivity.
With cybersecurity training, employees will have access to the latest security tools and resources, which can help make their work easier and more efficient.
Quality cybersecurity training also minimizes uncertainty and fear of cyber threats, providing a more skilled, knowledgeable, and confident workforce.
This can also put less strain on your IT department, allowing them to focus on more important security matters and ways to improve the company’s protective systems.
5. It can retain customers’ trust
When every team member does their best to strengthen a company’s cybersecurity, customers can rest assured knowing that their sensitive data is in safe hands.
On the other hand, the lack of strong security culture can eventually pave the way for damaging breaches and cyber-attacks, resulting not only in a loss of customer trust but also in the possibility of future business partnerships.
In one OnePoll survey, out of 2000 participants, over 86% stated they were hesitant to support a business that experienced a data breach in which debit or credit card information was compromised. That’s a lot of people who would lose faith in a company as a result of a cybersecurity attack.
Good cyber security awareness training can teach employees to better handle sensitive information, ensuring such incidents are prevented.
6. Greater protection for remote workers
Work-from-home arrangements have understandably increased in the aftermath of COVID-19, as have cyber crimes targeting people with weak home security.
By ensuring that your employees are uniquely equipped with the ability to mitigate and manage online threats, you can improve their digital security outside of the workplace.
Even if they don’t have enterprise-level security, they’ll be aware of the essential habits, routines, and tools to use while working and protecting themselves remotely.
7. It can foster career growth
Cybersecurity training enables employees to pick up new skills and gain valuable qualifications, which can help them advance into more senior roles.
This also benefits business owners as it’s getting increasingly hard to find qualified information security professionals.
A small pool of skilled cybersecurity specialists also means candidates can ask for higher salaries and more benefits. Smaller companies might be unable to afford such professionals from the get-go, so they should support their employees who want to attend training courses.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity training is essential for any business that wants to protect itself from cyber threats. Investing in training your employees can help prevent costly data breaches, improve employee productivity, and save time and money in the long run.
At MyComputerCareer, we offer a variety of IT courses that focus on cybersecurity training. Whether you are looking to learn the basics or become an expert in cybersecurity, our classes will give you the skills you need to protect your business from cyber threats. For more information, contact us today!