Cybersecurity is an essential consideration for the health and longevity of your company. But did you know that it can also improve and strengthen your company culture?
A robust cybersecurity model will not only prepare your employees for the risks of data breach and cybercrime, it will also reduce the stresses and uncertainties associated with weak cybersecurity.
Below, CyberPolicy provides a few tips on how to prevent cyberattacks from impacting your small or medium business.
Training Breeds Camaraderie
Studies have shown time and time again that employee negligence is the leading cause of data breach. This is troubling, because you trust and love your employees. Thankfully there are ways to turn around this trend - and it all starts with regular cybersecurity trainings.
Be sure to cover the importance of cybersecurity as a means to protecting your organization, your customers and yes, even your co-workers from harm. Discuss best practices for sharing information online, data storage, password creation, software management and more. You won't regret it!
Education Is Comforting
Digital safety can be confusing, and confusion can sometimes lead to anxiety. Take time to answer everyone's security questions. Discuss previous incidents your company has faced and how you overcame these problems. Reminder your workers that everyone makes mistakes, but it is better to disclose those quickly to avoid disaster.
Stress that the same guidelines discussed in your training sessions will also be useful outside of the office.
Shining a Light on Shadow IT
Perhaps you've heard the phrase \"shadow IT\" thrown around without really knowing what it means. Well, according to TechTarget, shadow IT is any hardware or software used by employees without the permission of the IT department; which can lead to major blind spots in IT's security assessments.
Why does shadow or stealth IT exist? Sometimes employees like to work from the tools and services they are already familiar with, whether or not they're approved by IT. While it's virtually impossible to shut down shadow IT, it is possible to shine a light on it (so to speak).
Promote an environment of open communication where employees can disclose the use of products and services without the fear of reappraisal. After all, it's better to find out now than after a data breach.
Happy Employees Are Less Threatening
It's ugly to imagine, but sometimes an employee is the hacker. Here's an example: Let's say you have to reprimand an employee for habitual tardiness and a generally poor work ethic. You think the meeting went well and you hope the employee is once again on the right track.
In a week or two, your IT department flags several customer complaints about spam emails to account only associated with your service. What gives? It turns out your disgruntled employee was selling customer information on the dark net. Yikes!
As you can see, poor company culture can negatively affect your digital defenses. To prevent incidents like this, you ought to require all employees to sign a nondisclosure agreement along with a cybersecurity agreement not to mishandle company data.
But if your business does succumb to cyberattack or data breach, a cyber insurance policy from CyberPolicy can insulate you from financial devastation. Visit CyberPolicy for your free quote today!
