Sept 17, 2024 - The Best Defense is a Great Offense: Proactive Cybersecurity Training

At a time where cybersecurity threats are evolving at lightning speed and data breaches make regular headlines, a robust cybersecurity defense is essential. But cybersecurity isn’t just about technology - it's also about people. For smaller businesses, where resources can be limited, that human element is even more critical. That’s why it’s vital to ensure every employee knows what to do when a cyberattack hits.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework provides a structured approach to managing your cybersecurity risks. One of its core components, the Respond function, emphasizes the importance of regular, proactive employee training.

Why is Proactive Training Important?

Training your employees on how to respond to a cybersecurity incident can help ensure that when an incident occurs, your response is fast, effective, and coordinated, reducing both the damage and the recovery time.

Let’s look at some of the specific benefits of proactive cybersecurity training:

• Reduced Incident Impact: A well-trained employee is more likely to spot a security breach quickly, which can significantly reduce downtime, damage, and financial losses.
• Improved Compliance: Regular training helps ensure that employees understand any relevant compliance requirements, which reduces the risk of pricey fines and penalties.
• Enhanced Reputation: A demonstrated commitment to cybersecurity can bolster your company’s reputation within your industry and help customers, partners, and stakeholders feel confident doing business with you.
• Empowered Employees: Training empowers your employees to take an active role in their company's cybersecurity defenses, promoting a culture of security awareness and boosting cooperation and teamwork.

On top of all of that, there’s proof that a good training program keeps organizations safer. According to a report from security awareness specialists KnowBe4, more than 30% of employees with no training are likely to fall victim to a phishing email. After a year of frequent training that includes simulated phishing tests, that number falls to around 5%.

What Should Training Cover?

Your training program should be wide-ranging and tailored to the specific needs and risks your business faces. Here are key components that should be included:

1. Understanding the Threat Landscape: Employees need a clear understanding of the specific types of cyber threats your company faces, such as phishing, ransomware, or insider threats. Providing real-world examples of each type of attack can help employees better understand the implications of these threats.
2. Roles and Responsibilities: Because clear communication during an incident is crucial, employees should understand whom to notify, how much information to share, and what steps to follow. Clearly defined responsibilities can reduce confusion and speed up the overall response process.
3. Using Incident Response Tools: Practical training on the tools and software involved in incident detection and response helps employees feel more confident and react more efficiently during a crisis.
4. Legal and Regulatory Compliance: For many small and medium-sized businesses, navigating compliance requirements can be daunting. But it’s crucial to ensure your incident response activities are in alignment with relevant regulations. Employees should understand their roles in maintaining compliance during and after an incident.

Exercises and Scenarios

The effectiveness of your training program can hinge on how its content applies to an employee’s real-life experience. Here are some exercises you can integrate into your training to bring it to life:

• Tabletop Exercises: These exercises involve role-playing – with specific detail – the company’s response to various cyberattack scenarios. These group conversations help refine your overall incident response plan and clarify everyone’s individual roles.
• Simulated Attacks: Conducting simulated cyberattacks (such as phishing simulations) helps employees learn to recognize and react to threats in a controlled environment. That hands-on practice reinforces learning and can expose potential weaknesses in your response plan.
• Post-Incident Reviews: After any training exercise or actual incident, it’s important to conduct a review to determine what went well, and where you can make improvements. That continuous feedback loop is key to adapting your response strategy to ensure it keeps pace with evolving threats.

Best Practices for Your Program

These approaches can help ensure your training program is as effective as possible.

• Make it Relevant: Connecting the training activities to an employee’s actual daily activities and experiences can make it more meaningful and memorable.
• Make it Fun: Adding a game element can make training more engaging and reinforce good habits and behavior. Consider elements like a point system for completing tasks, a leaderboard, and friendly competitions for prizes.
• Lead By Example: Your management team should consistently participate in training, and work to reinforce the value of good cybersecurity habits and the importance of practicing your cyberattack response.
• Recognize Accomplishments: When an employee knows their efforts will be appreciated and recognized they’re more likely to fully and consistently participate. Provide certificates, badges, or other signs of acknowledgement for a job well done.

Today, small and medium-sized businesses need to assume they’ll fall victim to a cyberattack at some point. A robust, regularly updated employee training program could be the difference between a successful response that minimizes the impact, and disorganized confusion that could be catastrophic for the business. Now is the time to develop your program to enhance resilience against cyber threats, protect your assets, and secure their place in a competitive marketplace.

Join us for the next session of our Cybersecurity Webinar Series: 

You're invited to join us on September 26th at 1:00 PM EDT for "Respond: How to Ensure Business Continuity with Effective Incident Response".