Top 7 Key Principles of Cybersecurity Awareness for Employees

Key Principles of Cybersecurity Awareness

During technology dominated today’s world, the issues related to cyber security are not limited to the information technology departments only. Every staff member, irrespective of the organizational level or position held, has the responsibility to enhance cyber security. With the increasing number of advanced cyber risks, all the employees have to have at least a basic understanding of cyber security. In this post, we will focus on the top seven key principles regarding cybersecurity awareness that every employee should know and abide by in order to minimize the possibility of the organization suffering from needless cyber attacks.

1. Strong Password Management

Needless to say, creating a strong password is one of the main cybersecurity measures. Employees should be taught why it’s important to have difficult and unique passwords that cannot be easily cracked. Some recommendations are:

• A combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols should be used.
• Biographies, names, and other personal details should not be used since this is information that can be readily inferred.
• Password manager tools should be considered so as to safeguard the dangerous habit of coming up with passwords on demand.
• Force additional levels of security identification such as two-factor authentication (2FA) where information security measures permit.

Through practice of these practices, employees help in minimizing incidences of illegal changes or access of their profiles and important information within the company.

2. Phishing Awareness

Cybercriminals use phishing even today, as their favorite method to bait in unsuspecting people and obtain sensitive information. Employees should be made aware of this technique and have the ability to detect such incidents. These include the following:

• Do not open unsolicited emails asking for some information from you.
• Always verify the email of the sender to ensure they are whom they say they are.
• Make certain that you have verified the links that you are about to click.
• Remember to read any emails that are overly aggressive and/or demanding.
• Email request that seems instinctive and you feel a tinge of discomfort should be confirmed by other means.

Regular cybersecurity awareness training sessions can help employees stay up-to-date with the latest phishing techniques and how to avoid falling victim to them.

3. Safe Internet Browsing

Whenever any employee uses Internet as a part of their job or even for personal leisure, they need to be advised about the tips of safe internet exploring practices for their own safety and safety of the organization. This includes:

• Accessing only secure websites (the address starts with “https”)
• Not downloading files if the source is not trustworthy
• Not using public Wi-Fi without caution
• Not disregarding the need to update browsers and plugins
• Connecting to company networks while off-site using VPN

If these recommendations are adhered to, there shall be minimal chances of the employees getting malware infections as well as any cases of data loss due to insecure online explorations.

4. Physical Security Awareness

Cybersecurity is not only limited to threats that exist over the internet, but will also include physical security matters. Employees should take care of:

• Locking their computer when away from the desk
• Putting away tablets phones, laptops is not in use particularly in open spaces
• Being cautious when talking to someone about classified information looking around
• Safely destroying confidential papers by burning or shredding
• Neglecting to put any sensitive document such as reports on the working desk where people walk by

Physical security awareness assists in curbing any unwarranted access to computer systems and sensitive information in the workplace and any other placesструкционная.

5. Recognition in Social Engineering

Social engineering represents a deceitful form of cyber attack in relation to which the methods are based on exploiting the weak points of the victims (e.g. persuading, a lot of the time through emotion, someone to share confidential information). Workers must be informed how to manage and fight against:

• Annoying requests over the phone or a visit with a purpose of obtaining private information;
• Disclosure of secrets ought to be based only after its recipient has been positively identified;
• Contacting unknown individuals on social networks or accepting their invitations should be avoided;
• Always appreciate that aggressors can pose as legitimate authority;
• Always alert any act or request which seems unusal in nature to the IT security

Being on the alert and determining possible social engineering attempts is a good way for employees to prevent such attacks from being successful.

6. Protection of Detrimental Information and Privacy

Protecting classified internal and clients’ data is heavily reliant on the employees. They should have an idea of data and privacy through engaging in:

• Proper access and utilization of information that is only required for performance of their assigned duties;
• Adequate segregation and handling of classified details according to their levels;
• Awareness and adherence to applicable laws on protection of private data (for example, GDPR, CCPA);
• Sending and receiving information and ignoring basic details;
• Disclosure of irregularities regarding leakage and unauthorized exposure of data.

As employees are able to handle data responsibly and appropriately, there would be less likelihood of the risk on the confidentiality and integrity of critical information.

7. Incident Reporting and Response

It should be kept in mind that security incidents do occur no matter how well prepared an individual or a company is. Employees should be prepared for any eventualities:

• Acquire knowledge of TTHW vis-a-vis the incident response policy.
• Finding out who to inform in case there is a potential cause of concern
• Reporting any unusual behavior or any cases of possible security breaches
• Understand their role in the incident response process
• Assist the Computer security investigators to the maximum extent.

Fast action to rectified any danger presents itself assists in lessening the risk loss or damage in the organizational setup and enable the institution to recover faster than in a situation when the response was slow.

Conclusion

The protection against the harm caused by a cyber-attack is not the obligation of a single individual; rather, it is the duty of every employee organization-wide. Employees should know and practice cyber security due to the following seven core concepts. Target continuous training, free expression and a culture of training and reinforcement action against internal and constantly changing external threats.

As stated earlier, trying once is not a solution for in the business of cyber security. Always educate yourself on the newest threats and precautions that could be deployed in the protection of confidential information. If all hold on together and are watchful, it is possible to ensure a safer virtual space for all organizations and individuals.