Your employees could unknowingly be a weak-point in your company’s cybersecurity defenses.A single misstep with something as simple as an email could lead an employee to be tricked by cybercriminals into downloading a ransomware-infected file, revealing their password, sharing sensitive data with unauthorized individuals, transferring funds to a scammer, or exposing their company to costly security breaches or compliance violations.

This is why security awareness training is so important. By providing your employees with the resources and knowledge they need to help you protect your company. In turn, you will save money on security costs, ensure you are staying compliant and have an edge over cyber criminals.

The Overlooked Security Hazard: Untrained employees pose security risks rather than strengthen security defenses. Without adequate training in security and compliance best practices, companies inadvertently set themselves up to face this challenging reality in a battle they are unlikely to win. ID Agent has uncovered some frightening statistics:

• Approximately 61% of organizations have experienced a compliance-related security incident caused by employees.
• Nearly 97% of employees struggle to identify a sophisticated phishing email without training.
• Only about 30% of regular internet users are familiar with terms like ransomware or malware.
• Roughly 40% of remote workers have inadvertently caused cybersecurity issues for their company.
• Just 16% of employees can recognize cyber threats without security awareness training.
• In a HIPAA Journal survey, around 45% of respondents indicated they don’t worry about cybersecurity because they don’t work in IT.

Get Big Impact from a Small Investment: Why allocate part of your security budget to awareness training? Because it’s a highly effective defense with a strong ROI, optimizing your security spending and safeguarding your bottom line.

Case Study, A Business Email Compromise (BEC) Disaster: While ransomware often grabs headlines, business email compromise (BEC) can be even more damaging. BEC typically starts with a phishing message, leading cybercriminals to obtain cash or credentials from the targeted individual.

Scenario: Company A receives an email appearing to be from Company B, a service provider. The email requests payment for a valid invoice, stating that service may be disrupted if not paid promptly. It claims Company B's banking details have changed and instructs Company A to send payment to a new account. Company A complies, transferring funds, only to find out the account is fraudulent.

Potential Consequences:For Company A: Funds may be transferred to cybercriminals via wire transfers or electronic payments.For Company B: An employee might accidentally share their password, granting cybercriminals access to sensitive data and systems, enabling impersonation and further attacks.

Impact of Security Awareness Training: For Company A, training enhances employee vigilance, helping them recognize warning signs and verify requests through a different channel. For Company B, it educates employees to be cautious about sharing login credentials. According to ID Agent, effective training can reduce security risks by 70%, helping prevent costly incident investigations and remediation. Even a modest investment in training can significantly mitigate the business impact of a cyberattack, with a 72% chance of success.

Security Awareness Training Is A Smart Investment For Every Business: No business can afford the consequences of an employee error or action that leads to a cyberattack. Unfortunately, many companies find themselves in this situation due to a lack of security awareness training.

Avoid making this mistake. Security awareness training is an affordable and highly effective solution for addressing employee cybersecurity challenges.

Contact Full Circle today to find out how we can help you train your employees!