Chapter 8: Building a Culture of Cybersecurity Awareness

Cybersecurity is not solely the responsibility of the IT department; it requires the participation and commitment of every individual within an organisation. In this final chapter, we discuss strategies for fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness throughout your business. We provide guidance on employee training programs, security awareness campaigns, and the establishment of security policies. By empowering your workforce with the knowledge and skills to identify and mitigate risks, you can create a collective defence against cyber threats.

To foster a culture of Cybersecurity awareness in your business, you need a two-pronged approach. The first prong starts at the top with the stakeholders, business owners and board members. You need full management commitment not only to learn about the benefits of fostering a Cybersecurity awareness culture within the business but to also adhere to it and lead from the front. This is often the hardest part.

The second part or prong is to work from the ground up. The most vulnerable part of any IT system is the part that involves a human. This may sound a little harsh, but it is true. The majority of cyber incidents are due to a member of staff clicking on something they should not have; be it a link in an email, ignoring a web browser attempt to stop them by clicking “continue to the site anyway” or by being in too much of a rush to stop and think “Is this request genuine and why would they ask me to do that?” By providing staff training, you raise awareness of the Cybersecurity risks and make sure all staff have the tools they need keep your business protected.

Providing regular cybersecurity training and awareness programs for employees

Not many businesses realise that when it comes to IT security, employees need two levels of training.

Security Awareness
Security awareness training raises the awareness of security within your organisation’s specific operational environment. This training is crucial to help employees identify insider threats and to identify when an attacker is trying to compromise data.
Cybersecurity Training
By providing dedicated Cybersecurity training you keep your employees up to date with the latest types of threat; for example, how not to get pulled into the latest phishing email or vishing attempt.

Encouraging reporting of security incidents and rewarding proactive security behaviours

Encouraging and rewarding your employees for reporting security incidents is a great way for employees to feel engaged with the cybersecurity of the business. The rewarding of positive behaviours has multiple benefits - one of the benefits is that your employees will feel valued in what they do and are subsequently more productive. Another benefit is that when an employee feels comfortable to report potential security incidents, these incidents can often be contained or in some cases completely mitigated. Encouraging and rewarding your employees doesn't need to be an expensive gesture, of course, every employee would like new car for their efforts; however, this approach could also have the opposite effect.

In simple terms - employees like to feel valued. So next time an employee raises a question about a file changing or a potentially malicious email, just remember to say, "Thanks for highlighting that". Ultimately your employees are the ones who will be adhering to the IT security policy. If the policy is scary and instils fear into your employees, it will have the opposite effect to what you intended as employees will not engage and you will be none the wiser regarding breaches of data.

Incorporating Cybersecurity into the organisation's values

Incorporating Cybersecurity into the organisation's values shows that your organisation is serious about its Cybersecurity from both an internal standpoint, which will show your employees that the data they hold is worth protecting, and externally you will show clients that you value their data and will do your utmost to protect it.

At Haines Watts we can help you achieve the IT security you need to protect your business. We provide practical advice on aligning your security objectives with your business goals and developing a roadmap for implementation.

Get in touch with our Cyber Security experts