Innovative Professional Offices (www.InnovativeProfessionalOffices.com), a top provider of executive offices and support services, is commenting on the importance of employee training for new cyber security threats.
Data breaches are a significant threat for companies, and cyber attacks can cause severe financial losses, as well as harm to a business’s reputation. According to a recent study from the Aberdeen Group and Wombat Security Technologies, investment in employee training can help reduce cyber security risks by up to 70 percent. (Source: Werner, D., “Reduce cyber security risks with employee training,” BizTimes, March 28, 2016; http://www.biztimes.com/2016/03/28/bizinsights-park-bank-reduce-cyber-security-risks-with-employee-training./)
“Cyber security affects businesses in every industry and field,” says Eshai Hirshberg, director of Innovative Professional Offices. “Every business has information they need to keep confidential, whether it’s their customer’s information or private business details. In the age of the Internet, companies need to be taking every precaution they have.”
Cyber security has a high cost for businesses, with statistics showing that the average stolen record costs a business $217. Since the average data breach results in 5,655 to 96,550 stolen records, businesses can suffer losses of millions of dollars from a single cyber attack.
“For larger companies, a data breach can be devastating,” notes Hirshberg. “However, for medium- to small-sized businesses, one cyber attack could sink the entire business. A lot of employers focus on cyber security, but part of that also needs to be ensuring the right training for employees.”
Statistics show that employees create the biggest vulnerabilities for companies, with over 80 percent sending sensitive files using their personal emails. As well, half of all employees upload sensitive information to cloud storage services, where they are susceptible to being accessed.
“What the research shows is that even with the best cyber security practices, employees can expose your company to security risks,” says Hirshberg. “Employee training is really essential for reducing this risk. Unfortunately, there’s been a decline in employee training over the last decade, and many companies may suffer severe consequences as a result.”
According the recent study on cyber security, investing in employee training reduces data breach risks by 45 to 70 percent. The study concluded that employees are the biggest security threat facing businesses.
“There are two types of training that employers can use,” says Hirshberg. “The first is to use ‘fake’ pshing or cyber attacks through employee emails, to test their reactions. This is a good way to weed out people who aren’t following safe practices and need more training.”
Security firms can help with executing these fake cyber attacks. However, Hirshberg believes that companies also need to provide regular training for their employees, particularly for new hires.
“You need to have formal training for your employees,” says Hirshberg. “It’s not reasonable to expect your employees to follow safe practices if you’re not teaching and informing them. Renting a seminar room and holding a ‘cyber security’ session could be the difference between losing money and keeping your business safe.”
Innovative Professional Offices offers flexible arrangements for companies looking for training seminar rentals, office rentals, and administration services.
