If you had to guess, what would you assume is the greatest threat to your company's cybersecurity? If you answered \hackers\" or \"data breach\" you'd only be half right. Generally speaking, hackers need a point of entry before they can exact damage on your network. Similarly, data breaches don't just happen; there's typically some occurrence that leaks sensitive information outside of an organization.

Whether you want to believe it or not, employee negligence is actually the greatest threat to your organization's digital safety. Of course, this isn't to say that your employees are bad people; but rather that staff members often lack the cybersecurity education they need to make smart preparations against hacking and data breach.

Some companies blame the victim when one happens across a malware download or phishing scam. While this may technically be an employee's fault, it doesn't do your company much good to point fingers. Instead, CyberPolicy recommends fostering a supportive company culture to help combat cybercrime. Here are a few pointers to get you started.

Encourage Open Discussion
Are your employees afraid to report a security breach to IT for fear of reprisal? Do your best to create an environment where people can talk openly about security incidents. Not only will this encourage staff members to share their experiences and challenges, it will also draw more workers to ask questions, which is always a good sign.

Lead by example. Have your CEO, executives or managers talk about times they fell for an online scam and how they overcame the consequences during your next company meeting.

Host Routine Training Sessions
Speaking of meetings, you ought to host quarterly or monthly cybersecurity training sessions for your staff. This is a perfect time to review defense protocols, answer questions and refresh everyone's memory about the importance of threat awareness.

Since you will be hosting these training sessions on a rolling basis, you can keep the meeting short and to the point. Remember to break down complex topics and avoid jargon, as some employees will tune out if discussion goes over their heads.

Share Cybersecurity News Articles
If your company leverages a collaboration platform, you might want to consider creating a  Ëœcybersecurity news' channel where workers can share articles on the latest malware attacks, data breaches and scams.

Another idea is to include cyber news articles in your company newsletter. The goal in either case is to bring the most current cybersecurity discussions into the company culture and into the collective consciousness.

Develop an Incident Response Plan

Lastly, you'll want to develop an incident response plan so that everyone in your office (regardless of rank) knows how to respond to a data breach or cyberattack. This should include where to report the incident, how to quarantine the issue and how to assess the overall health of the network as these problems can spread rather quickly.

Be sure to run through this response plan during your training sessions so the whole process becomes second nature. In the battle against cyber crooks and data breach, preparation is everything.

For more information about keeping your company secure and happy, visit CyberPolicy!