October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) and it’s a great time to reemphasize the importance of data security with your employees. It’s also a great time to start or restart your security awareness training.

Only about 45% of organizations have mandatory security awareness training. Often, this is because they either don’t find the time or aren’t sure what they need to train employees on. They also may lack resources to use for training.

Companies that implement cybersecurity awareness training have noted a 75% decrease in employees’ susceptibility to phishing attacks.

Piggy-backing your cybersecurity awareness onto NCSAM gives you not only weekly security education to focus on this month, but also multiple free resources to use like tip sheets and graphics.

Putting managed IT security in place is an important part of your overall cybersecurity plan, but employee security awareness training is also a vital part of ensuring your business is proactively protected from data breaches, malware infections, and other threats.

Cybersecurity Emphasis by Week During October

When employees are provided with data security education, it greatly reduces your risk of a breach.

This year’s NCSAM uses a theme that you can also promote: “Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart.” It makes a point that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility by everyone at an organization.

You can find a full presentation here with multiple cybersecurity tips inside.

Here are the weekly themes that you can share with employees this month to boost their cyber knowledge and your business’s level of protection against online threats.

Week 1: If You Connect It, Protect It

Promote mobile and computer device security to employees. This is especially important in this environment of work-from-home, where many devices are no longer under the protection of a local office firewall.

Many Indiana businesses, just like those around the country, plan to keep part of their workforce remote. 77% of surveyed organizations said that post-pandemic, they plan to have more employees working remotely 3+ days per week than before.

Employee Awareness Emphasis:

• Use antivirus on all devices (mobile and tablets too)
• Keep all devices updated with the latest security patches/updates
• Enable multi-factor authentication on all devices
• Keep a passcode screen lock on devices
• Only download apps from one of the major app stores (Microsoft, Apple, Google)

You can download NCSAM free tip sheets to give out to employees. The ones that would fit in nicely with week 1 focuses are:

• Passwords Tip Sheet
• Multi-factor Authentication Tip Sheet
• Phishing Tip Sheet

Week 2: Securing Devices at Home and Work

Emphasis the importance of device security being just as strong at home as it is at work. This can include guidance for remote connection security and how to best access an office server or workstation from home remotely that doesn’t leave the network at risk.

Employee Awareness Emphasis:

• Using a virtual private network (VPN)
• Not to use cloud apps without permission (shadow IT)
• Steps to take if a ransomware attack happens while working from home
• How to secure their office workstation if they’re going to be working out of the office for a few days/weeks

Here are some of the NCSAM tip sheets to look for that would fit in nicely with week 2 focuses:

• Cybersecurity at Work Tip Sheet
• Cybersecurity While Traveling Tip Sheet

Week 3: Securing Internet Connected Devices (IoT Security)

While NCSAM’s theme focuses more on IoT in healthcare, IoT devices are used just about everywhere these days. Focus on security of devices like routers, voice assistants, and any other smart devices connected to the same network as business computers/mobile devices.

IoT devices are typically at higher risk of causing a network breach because they’re not always properly protected.

Employee Awareness Emphasis:

• Change default username/passwords on IoT devices
• Put IoT devices on a separate “guest” network from more sensitive devices (like business computers)
• Don’t name IoT devices for the brand or location (i.e. don’t use “Front door Nest cam”)
• Log into IoT devices regularly (especially routers) to check for security updates

Here are some of the NCSAM tip sheets to look for that would fit in nicely with week 3 focuses:

• Internet of Things Tip Sheet
• Protecting Your Digital Home Tip Sheet

Week 4: Future of Connected Devices

Week four is about the future of connected devices and understanding that cybersecurity is always evolving and needs to be considered whenever a new device is used.

Discuss new technologies like Wi-Fi 6 and 5G, and also how those might impact their device security or risk.

Employee Awareness Emphasis:

• Identify ways to secure wearables, which are getting more powerful and have access to business email and more
• Discuss the security enhancements that make Wi-Fi 6 routers safer than their predecessors
• Social media phishing and misinformation is becoming more prevalent and can lead to data breaches

Here are some of the NCSAM tip sheets to look for that would fit in nicely with week 4 focuses:

• Social Media Cybersecurity Tip Sheet
• E-Skimming Tip Sheet

Update

The folks (down under) at P1 Technology liked this article and wanted us to share some more tips with you.  Go check them out. They have some great articles there too.

• 15 Critical Cyber Security Tips for Business

Put Device Security Protections in Place for Your Business

Skyline Business Technology can help your Wabash, IN business with strong device security protections that extend to both your office and remote worker homes.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Call 260-225-3133 or reach us online.