As organizations move towards leveraging emerging technologies to meet marketplace demands, one of the most effective ways to defend against the looming threat of cyberattacks is to implement a robust cybersecurity awareness program. However, the process of developing and managing a security program is more complicated than most organizations anticipate. This oversight can result in a poorly designed security program with gaps and vulnerabilities that hackers and cybercriminals can exploit easily. Outdated security programs, additional burden on administrators, low employee interest, and lack of participation are the primary challenges with implementing such programs.

Employees unaware of cyber-threats can cause significant losses to organizations. According to a Verizon report, 85% of security breaches involve a human element, and social engineering tops the pattern in these breaches. For example, when nine employees from the Oregon Department of Human Services fell victim to a spear-phishing attack, the sensitive data of over 350,000 patients was compromised – threat actors accessed over 2 million emails. Likewise, in February 2021, a cyberattack on renowned venture capital firm Sequoia Capital occurred when an employee fell victim to a phishing attack. 

It is challenging for organizations to achieve their cybersecurity goals with the increase in sophisticated socially engineered threats, data mishandling, and untrained employees. Therefore, the balance between people, processes, and technology is crucial for developing a healthy corporate cybersecurity strategy. In addition, because humans are seen as the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, consistent cybersecurity awareness training helps combat these risks. Therefore, aligning business goals with security objectives can reduce unnecessary security incidents.

The Importance of Security Awareness Training

Security awareness training is essential for strengthening your organization’s most vulnerable element: humans. Educating employees on different cybersecurity risks will minimize the possibility of security breaches and empower them to recognize any malicious actor. Cyberattacks are increasing as remote working continues apace.

Poor cybersecurity awareness directly puts an organization at risk, primarily when operating critical systems and services like VPNs and cloud environments. Additionally, as the cyber threat landscape evolves dramatically, it is challenging for regular employees and security teams to defend their organizations. Nevertheless, employees today are the first line of defense; therefore, it is necessary to have a robust security awareness training program that caters to an organization’s unique culture because building a solid security culture helps the business meet its objectives.

Awareness training is constructive in identifying and preventing cyber threats like email scams, malware, password security, removable media, social networking, and more. Familiarizing employees with cybersecurity principles and best practices keeps organizations secure and prevents downtime. Cybersecurity awareness programs help employees understand common social engineering attacks like phishing and spear-phishing. Conducting phishing simulations will enable the organization to gauge its awareness and response to a phishing email.

Based on industry reports, 59% of global organizations conceded that the lack of employee awareness and training was the top challenge in reinforcing cybersecurity protocol for remote working. As a result, it is better for small-to-midsized businesses (SMBs) with a limited budget to select a reliable cybersecurity partner for developing and managing a robust cybersecurity program.

Below are key attributes to look for when selecting a security awareness training program:

• Compatibility: the awareness training program must resonate with the organization’s security needs, policies, and goals.
• Engaging: generic training is less practical, as it fails to engage. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Thus, it is necessary to understand employees’ competency levels to provide focused and practical training.
• Broad scope to include a diverse workforce: as remote working continues, organizations are tapping into the global talent pool. Therefore, selecting an awareness program relevant to the entire team across geographies is beneficial for organizations.
• Threat modeling integration: the program identifies, prioritizes, and addresses cyber threats. Incorporating business interests into this model enables the organization to make informed decisions.

Benefits of the GoldSky–KnowBe4 Partnership

The cybersecurity workforce’s changing threat landscape has pushed organizations toward proactive and budget-friendly options to combat highly sophisticated cyberattacks. Training all employees and implementing best practices and a robust cybersecurity program is one of the best ways for SMBs to tackle the growing cyber threat.

The partnership between GoldSky Security and KnowBe4 is especially beneficial for organizations that need to strengthen their security posture while maintaining an affordable service. The formidable expertise of GoldSky’s capabilities and KnowBe4’s world-class tools makes it possible to identify human-based security gaps, thereby developing unique security awareness programs that will empower organizations to improve defenses against any cyber threat.

Here are some benefits of this partnership between KnowBe4 and GoldSky Security:

• Comprehensive Security Awareness Training Program: the security awareness training from GoldSky and KnowBe4 focuses on creating and running an awareness program unique to the organization’s requirements. The training programs offer a variety of free IT security tools and simulations for employees to understand and manage the growing problem of social engineering cyberattacks.
• Threat Identification and Risk Assessment: The first step necessary for mitigating any threat is to identify it. Cut through the noise and detect phishing emails with the 360degree Security Risk Assessment from GoldSky Security and PhishER, the Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) platform from KnowBe4.
• Regulatory Compliance Designation: the Compliance Audit Readiness Assessment (CARA) capabilities from KnowBe4 and certified industry experts from GoldSky Security help support organizations’ meet several regulatory compliances. Certifying your business processes and technologies proves that your infrastructure adheres to security hygiene and best practices.

Conclusion

Although malicious threat actors evolve and make it difficult for security professionals to keep up, security awareness training for all employees goes a long way in preventing any cyberattack. Renowned for its tailored cybersecurity solution, GoldSky Security focuses on its objective of helping organizations identify security vulnerabilities, comply with regulations, and reduce the risk of cyberattacks. The partnership between GoldSky Security and KnowBe4 helps organizations educate their employees on threat identification, response, and recovery best practices to support business processes.

With multiple free IT security tools, attack simulations, and industry expert guidance, this win-win partnership presents a fantastic opportunity for slight to midsize businesses to improve their overall cybersecurity posture cost-effectively. All in all, the multi-layered approach to security awareness training engraved in the GoldSky-KnowBe4 partnership will bolster your organization’s first line of defense against any cyberattack and prevent monetary or reputational damage.