With a dramatic increase in cybercrime incidents over the years which has seen top companies like Facebook and Yahoo falling victim, all the organisations, small and big alike, have started taking cybersecurity seriously and have made cybersecurity training a part of their organisation. A considerable percentage of cybercrimes occur due to human error or negligence of employees.

These arise due to a lack of awareness amongst the employees. Hence, every organisation needs an effective training program aimed at cybersecurity to keep the risk of cyber-attacks at a minimum and to keep its data and valuable information protected. This article discusses ways to create a cybersecurity training program for employees.

DATA PRIVACY LAWS & UAE

The UAE passed the Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021, popularly known as the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL). The PDPL is similar to Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the most comprehensive law on data privacy. What’s essential for UAE businesses is that they must comply with the GDPR if they operate in Europe or have dealings with European citizens.

A GDPR breach can result in a fine of €20m ($23m) or 4 per cent of their total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. UAE businesses or foreign-registered businesses dealing in UAE must also ensure compliance with the PDPL. Unfortunately, at times  businesses have weak cyber security processes, which exposes them to liability and increased threats of cyber-attacks.

Agile Managex Technologies offers managed IT security services for businesses in the UAE. Our experts will carry out an initial risk and requirements assessment. We will develop a comprehensive security plan for your organisation based on it which will ensure compliance with GDPR, PDPL, and international best practices.

CREATING A STRONG CYBERSECURITY TRAINING PROGRAM

1. EDUCATE ON REMOTE WORK

The remote work trend has been on the rise since the start of COVID-19. Organisations also prefer their employees to work from home since it is cost-effective. Working from home can be a security risk for an organisation since the employees use their own laptops and home internet to access vital information and log in to company accounts instead of using the organisation’s internet at the office, which is very secure.

Hackers can easily target such individuals and hack valuable information or data of the company. Before allowing work from home, companies must provide employees with proper training on cybersecurity. It can include using updated software on their personal devices, installing an antivirus program, and securing their internet connection from a third party.

2. REWARD TRAINING

When training is boring or without rewards for the participants, the participants lose focus and don’t learn much. It is crucial to constantly keep the attendees engaged by interacting with them and encouraging them to ask questions. Moreover, employees don’t have much time on their hands since they also must complete their daily tasks. So, employees should be rewarded for participating in the training session and helping the organisation to minimise the risk of cybercrime and data leaks.

3. RISK ASSESSMENT

Before starting a cybersecurity training program, the IT team should assess the organisation’s most vulnerable domains. The training program can become more efficient by conducting a risk assessment since employees can be taught how to deal with situations that are a considerable risk for the company. For instance, it could be phishing emails or fake calls pretending to be company employees and asking for credentials.

4. DETERMINE WHAT PARTICIPANTS KNOW

cybersecurity should not be one way. Meaning experts just come and transfer their knowledge. To make it even more effective, the experts should first find out what the participants already know and then provide them training after judging their level of understanding. It might be that the training might be of a superior level to that of the participants, and they might not be able to grasp anything. Another reason for determining participants’ understanding is not to provide training about things they already know. It would waste the company’s resources and employees’ time.

5. USE REAL EXAMPLES

Training is not always about reading from the book. Sometimes the situation demands one to use real examples. Besides, it is proven that humans tend to learn more when provided with real-world examples. It not only makes everything interesting but can be related to oneself. Due to this reason, team members should be encouraged to share their bad experiences related to cybersecurity. It could be instances when they downloaded a corrupted file or forgot to log out of the system. Moreover, there should be examples of other organisations attacked by cybercriminals and how it could have been prevented.

6. PHISHING ATTACKS

One of the most common and successful methods of cybercrime is phishing. Cybercriminals use emails that look very authentic and usually contain a link in them and ask the employees to open the link or download a particular attachment. It becomes challenging for employees with no idea or training to detect such emails; hence, they fall victim to it and start a domino effect. All this can be avoided by training employees and helping them to identify such emails.

Conclusion

The cybersecurity field is continuously evolving, and so must your response. Ensure your training and processes can effectively deal with new threats. Contact us to learn more about our managed IT security services in the UAE. We also offer backup and disaster recovery services in the UAE to ensure minimal downtime in case of a data breach.