Around 5 billion people use the Internet. With the usage of the World Wide Web comes an incredible amount of data, both private and public. How companies handle the data they manage spells a world of a difference in their business practices and performance. Cybersecurity should be every credible business’s priority and proper training for your team is imperative in this digital age.
What Is Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the practice of keeping electronic systems, networks, servers, programs, computers, and mobile devices protected from malicious digital attacks. Implementing a successful cybersecurity system requires multiple layers of protection.
Computers and other mobile devices, networks, programs, and other systems that contain or process data should be secured. In the same vein, the people using these devices and software should understand and implement basic data security principles to avoid privacy breaches that could be detrimental to the business. Data leaks cause extensive and expensive damage to the company, making Data Loss Prevention (DLP) a top priority.
Why Cybersecurity Training is Important for Your Marketing Team
Your team handles a lot of sensitive data for the company, from personal employee and customer data to the company’s financial information. It is vital for your team to be vigilant and do their part in keeping these data safe and secure, away from prying entities that may use the information for malicious purposes.
Cyberthreats and cyberattacks are usually performed to gain access, change, or destroy sensitive data. Some malicious entities execute cybersecurity attacks to extort money or interrupt business processes.
Your marketing team, in particular, has a very strategic position in the company that makes them the prime target for security attacks. According to Forbes, marketers are particularly easy targets for hackers looking to compromise the integrity of a company’s cybersecurity. Because marketers are more accessible by trade, a lot more information about them is available, making it easy to find weak spots that will allow them to weasel their way into the company.
Marketers are also very active when it comes to interacting with the external connections of the company as compared to their colleagues in other departments that tend to interact mostly internally within the company. Marketers often share a lot of work with outside vendors and partners, sharing lots of emails and data back and forth. This makes them vulnerable to file attachments that could be injected with malware to damage and extract sensitive data.
The cybercriminals orchestrating these security attacks are becoming very creative, with sophisticated technology aiding their efforts, which is why updating your team’s training on cybersecurity is critical in making sure the company and all its data stay safe and secure.
How to Train Your Team on Cybersecurity
Your employees are your first line of defense as they are the ones moving data around on a daily basis. Creating a strong foundation of knowledge on how they can protect themselves and the company from cyberattacks allows for a more secure online presence for all parties involved.
A lot of, if not all, cybersecurity breaches are due to human error. Have your team realize the importance of every online activity they perform requiring the handling of mass amounts of information. Remind them of the importance of strong and unique passwords that help make system logins more secure. Help them recognize phishing and social engineering attacks as well as be more vigilant with opening links and files.
Create engaging training that not only relates to your company’s niche but also relates to the team and their work responsibilities. Set systems in place for when cyberattacks are experienced and have contingency plans for your data. Host simulations and training exercises that walk your team through various forms of cyberattacks, from before, during, and after to better understand and apply what they have learned in practice.
Perform regular security audits and equip your employees with the proper tools and training to build that strong foundation of cybersecurity knowledge. Your team can be what stands in the way between a hacker and your company’s bank information. Don’t just stop at annual training either.
Cyberattacks are becoming more common and creative, with new ways of attacking coming to light every month if not every day. Keep your team in the loop by updating them on these new developments, and reminding them to be vigilant and cautious. Marketers shouldn’t feel deterred by thinking of themselves as targets or risk factors.
Cultivating a culture wherein everyone is actively reinforcing the systems they have learned from their training is essential to the company’s healthy and robust security system. Even the most sophisticated online security systems and security patches can only do so much to keep cybercriminals out of the company’s system. As the saying goes, prevention is always better than cure.
