The growing need for cyber security in the workplace

Posted 1 year ago

We’re living in the golden age for technology, where its role grows in importance with each passing year, known as digitalisation. And this isn’t going to stop anytime soon. With that being said, businesses need to ensure they’re prepared to deal with the issues that arise from this.

Technology: Is it good or bad?

Embracing technology has been great for the world in many ways. For example, it enabled businesses to almost seamlessly shift to remote or hybrid working models during the Covid pandemic, with a plethora of collaborative software to utilise.

However, it’s been a double-edged sword;the more new technologies organisations have adopted, more opportunities have been presented to cyber criminals to launch digital attacks.

Ultimately, most people see the development of new technology as a great thing. But it’s absolutely essential that businesses understand how to recognise cyber threats and implement best practices to know how to try and mitigate them.

What are the biggest cyber challenges businesses face today?

Cyber challenges vary massively across different industries, but here are some of the most prevalent issues faced by all business types:

Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malicious software which cyber criminals deploy on an unsuspecting person’s computer network in order to encrypt their files.

If a cyber criminal is successful in doing this, it enables them to extort the victim into paying large fees to decrypt their files and make them accessible again.

Nowadays, most people tend to have their data backed up somewhere, whether it be on an external hard drive or on the Cloud. Most cyber criminals have clocked onto this and now threaten to release stolen files online. This same threat has also been used on those who have refused to pay the criminal.

Often, cyber criminals will target customer service and HR teams as they are easily reachable employees who hold information valuable to the cyber criminal.

It’s absolutely crucial that organisations ensure they are well equipped to prevent ransomware attacksr, and make sure all employees have a fundamental understanding of how to spot and avoid potential ransomware attacks.

Spear phishing

As we adopt new technologies in businesses to make progress and change the way we work, cyber criminals have been using different methods to carry out their attacks – one method that has gained popularity has been spear phishing.

Spear phishing is a type of digital communication scam that targets a specific individual or organisation. It’s designed to trick unsuspecting victims into clicking a link and willingly giving away their credentials. Unlike conventional phishing – which is a broader approach to the same goal – spear phishing is a lot more personal, and can be a lot more deceiving.

To prevent spear phishing attacks, organisations should create filters which flag incoming emails as either internal or external, which allows the recipient to see if somebody is trying to trick them.

Additionally, organisations should ensure employees are educated to understand what spear phishing is and how it can be prevented. This information can be simply delivered through online Cyber Security Training courses.

Remote or hybrid working

Over the past few years, the various lockdowns and a shift in attitudes has led to businesses adopting mass remote working or moving into hybrid working models. Now it’s clear to see that the movement towards remote and hybrid working is here to stay.

Risks like unsafe networks, digital file sharing, and outdated software make up part of a long list of risks that should be addressed by all organisations with remote workers.

However, these risks should not put off organisations from allowing employees to work remotely, but instead should encourage businesses to ensure their cyber security policies are up-to-date and cover remote working responsibilities.

Training employees, carrying out risk assessments, making sure workers are using secure connections, and introducing robust information management frameworks are all important ways to help protect your business from the risks associated with hybrid or remote working.

Cyber security in numbers

Now that we’ve covered the types of cyber threats businesses face, let’s get an idea of how big these threats are to UK businesses today…

83% of organisations have suffered from more than one security breach
74% of breaches involve a human element
The UK is the most cyber attacked country in Europe, accounting for 43% of all cases
41% of incidents involve phishing for initial access
60% of cyber breaches in Europe involve social engineering tactics
19% of breaches are caused by stolen or compromised credentials

As you can tell, cyber attacks are extremely common in UK workplaces, and the need for educating your employees is abundantly clear.

The importance of Cyber Security Training

Despite human factors being one of the biggest risks to cyber security, this represents one of the biggest opportunities!

Businesses should empower their employees at all levels to be accountable and take ownership of cyber security measures. But to do this, they need to have a fundamental understanding of cyber security.

For this reason, businesses must educate their employees to spot the signs of cyber security threats and know how to respond appropriately. Training employees shouldn’t be seen as a tick-box exercise, but crucially a powerful strategy to protect the business.

iHasco have developed a range of online Cyber Security & GDPR Training courses designed to help organisations work towards compliance, improve cyber security awareness, and protect their business from cyber threats and data breaches.

Some of our most popular courses in this bundle include:

Having helped thousands of UK businesses easily work towards information security compliance, we are sure that we can help you too!

Claim a free, no-obligation trial to any of the courses today! Alternatively, request a bespoke quote for your organisation and a member of our team will get in touch to discuss your training needs.