Five effective and engaging ways to train employees in cyber security
The opportunity for cyber criminals to attack is on the rise, with figures sharing one attack occurs every three seconds.
Additional worrisome stats found that only 1 in 10 employees are able to remember their cyber-security training, and over a third of organisations still don’t have formal cyber security practices in place.
With these figures demonstrating the urgency to update cyber-security training content, the experts at Indusface are sharing five effective and engaging ways to train the workplace in cyber security.
1) Raise awareness on a personal level
Employees should recognise the personal implications of their workplace being involved in a data breach. A case to consider here is the enormous amount of employee data that was compromised last month, consisting of an estimated 270,000 military payroll records including bank details, addresses and national insurance numbers. Sensitive data of this nature could provide the blueprint to future personal attacks.
If employees understand that attacks don’t just affect the business, it will aid engagement on a more intrinsic level. Additionally, understanding the frequency of attacks will solidify their engagement.
2) Use incentive-based training
Research identifies that businesses who employ incentive programs achieve their defined targets, with a success rate of 79%. By setting training goals, creating tasks for employees and testing them on their cyber security knowledge with incentives for high scorers, motivation will encourage engagement with the material.
Although it will use company resources to set up training programs such as this, it will be more cost effective for employers to pursue rather than experiencing a company wide cyber attack, with the average cost of a single attack standing at approximately £10,830 for medium and large businesses in 2024.
3) Teach using micro-learning modules
To avoid overwhelming employees with large modules, training should be administered in small amounts, which they are able to work through at their own pace, especially considering the complexity of cyber security.
ELearning and EdTech companies have observed a 74% or higher completion rate in microlearning courses they provide. It is also 50% cheaper, and 300% faster to develop than typical learning modules, saving leaders time and money.
4) Share case studies of similar workplaces
No one thinks they’re going to be attacked on the web until it happens. To help the reality sink in, organisations may look at examples where competitors have been victims. Scammers utilise different methods depending on their target, so this can help employees identify ways in which attacks could arise in their workplace.
5) Use interactive training tools
Research has shown that higher interactivity promotes recognition and recall of content. Since the main objectives of most positions are not centred around cyber security, the information is vulnerable to being forgotten or drowned out by every-day work topics.
By using interactive methods of training, engagement with the material will be promoted. A great example for this is Hornet Security, who provide material such as simulated phishing attacks.
Cyber security training is crucial
Effective cyber security training is crucial given the rising trend of cyber attacks and their intricacy. Personalised awareness helps employees to understand real risks to their own data, and real world cases make threats more tangible.
Incentive based training can help boost engagement with the material, whilst interactive tools have the ability to enhance retention. Cyber security training may sound overwhelming to employees with less interest in technology, but this can be managed by providing microlearning modules, to break down the more complex aspects.
