Cybersecurity Training for Hybrid and Remote Employees

A successful cyberattack is your organization’s worst nightmare. Imagine the heart-stopping moment when you realize sensitive data or thousands of dollars have been stolen by a hacker who, like a thief moving under the cover of night, took advantage of the weak points in your cybersecurity program.

How likely are cyberattacks, though? Can it really happen to you? If you ask these 18 companies, it’s a very real threat that, when left ignored, leaves digital doors and windows open for cyber criminals to sneak through. Even worse, if you have remote employees, the frequency of cybersecurity breaches goes up by 238%. So yes, it can happen to you, but it doesn’t have to.

Your own workforce is your best defense against cyberattacks, but your employees may not understand the importance of looking for lock symbols on webpages or not sharing passwords. And with more and more teams working in hybrid or remote settings, the landscape of effective cybersecurity training for employees is a little different than it was, say, 10 years ago.

It’s time to develop a fresh approach, one that takes the risks, challenges, and realities of modern cybersecurity into account so that your distributed teams and your organization as a whole remain safe, secure, and properly educated.

Assess the Risks

Whenever a new cyberattack story hits the news, you can expect financial consequences in the form of legal fees, fines, and stolen funds, not to mention the loss of confidential data. Unfortunately, cyberattacks have layers. The immediate repercussions of malware and digital intrusions are just the first, surface-level risks you face if effective cybersecurity measures aren’t in place.

Think of the damage to your organization’s reputation. Negligent employees and sub-par cybersecurity practices are a blemish you would rather avoid. As customers and partners find out that you were the unwitting victim of a cyberattack, they’re less likely to have faith in your ability to keep their private information secure. Plus, damage control for a tarnished reputation is no small task.

You also need to consider the regulatory environment for your business. What kind of data protection regulations are your organization held to? Particularly strict ones will likely require you to implement cybersecurity training for employees, and failure to do so can result in legal consequences.

Save yourself the time and effort; have stronger cybersecurity training for employees.

Champion the Challenges

Protecting the average office environment against cybersecurity threats requires constant vigilance and a willingness to match the pace of new threats and new technology. Add hybrid and remote employees to the mix and suddenly cybersecurity is even more complex.

You need a personalized approach to cybersecurity training that addresses common network attacks across a wide variety of scenarios and the fact that remote employees in particular are introducing a variety of new devices to your workforce’s electronic ecosystem. It may seem silly, but even something as innocent as an employee’s smart refrigerator could be a vulnerability in your network, giving cyber criminals an access point you’re probably overlooking. Both personal and professional pieces of technology should be secured. Every individual has a unique responsibility to defend your organization.

Save the Day — Before the Day Needs Saving

Cybersecurity training for employees is a preventative measure that allows your distributed teams to be the unsung heroes of your organization. As hackers gear up to attack, you can feel more confident and at ease knowing that effective defenses are already in motion. Your employees know exactly what to do when faced with a phishing email or ransomware, and you gave them the tools to be sharp and proactive.

These are six steps you can take to develop a strong training protocol that applies in and outside of your office space:

1. Get Creative

Whether it’s the kind of data your organization handles or the various locations your employees find themselves in, it’s on you to identify the specific cybersecurity risks that are relevant to your distributed teams and weave that knowledge into a creative, customized training plan with highly specific content. Some examples include strong password management, phishing awareness and identification, data protection and privacy, secure remote access practices, and incidence response procedures.

2. Choose a Flexible Training Program

The best training software or platform will likely be one that a) supports access for your remote employees who may be in different locations — and even different time zones — and b) takes diverse learning styles into account. Video lectures, quizzes, and hands-on simulations can highlight a wide range of topics and give employees a chance to imagine themselves encountering a real cybersecurity threat.

3. Have Fun

Engaging, interactive cybersecurity training for employees will keep important knowledge circulating and fresh in your teams’ minds. Consider game-style training elements such as points, badges, or leaderboards to motivate ongoing participation. Regular tests (e.g., phishing simulations) can also keep employees on their toes.

4. Prioritize Frequent Updates

Short, frequent training sessions may be best to keep cyberattacks top of mind. Technology is always changing, and hackers are great at keeping up with the times. Update your training content as often as needed to reflect new cybersecurity concerns and best practices.

5. Promote a Culture of Awareness 

Communicating that you take cybersecurity seriously is important at all levels of your organization. Every employee is unique, but it truly takes the dedicated, concerted effort of all your leaders and distributed teams to make security and safety a reality. Create a culture where it’s cool to care about the welfare of your organization, and keep up a slow, steady, repetitive rhythm of training updates and motivators.

6. Track Your Teams’ Progress

Those quizzes we mentioned earlier are a great way to assess how well your employees are retaining information, but you should take advantage of any additional touchpoints where you have an opportunity to determine if your cybersecurity efforts are really teaching your teams how to defend themselves against cyberattacks.

In-Depth Cybersecurity Audits by Tarkenton

Where are you vulnerable? How could you be stronger? Tarkenton’s comprehensive security and audit services are designed to identify all the potential risks and fatal flaws in your technological infrastructure so you can effectively block cyberattacks and prevent small issues from escalating into major problems. We also offer customer security solutions that meet the needs of your one-of-a-kind distributed teams.

Don’t let your organization be a victim. The time to train is now.