By Hector Bonilla, SWK Technologies Inc.
SWK Technologies is a premier sponsor of the PICPA

Modern cybersecurity language can make you forget that informed and well-trained employees are the best way to save money on security costs. Cyber risk is expensive to limit, and becomes even more expensive if, and when, it transforms into a full-blown attack. The connection between human error and hacking makes employees a big part of a company’s risk, but also a big part of its cyberdefense.

Employees can help as much as hurt an organization’s network security, says cybersecurity expert Charl Ueckermann, CEO of AVeS Cyber Security. He told South Africa’s Independent Online that while internal personnel are seen as a business’s biggest threat, they are also the greatest resource for maintaining IT security when properly informed. “Educating employees on cyber threats and how to use IT resources and the internet securely can help lower security risks, as well as the costs associated with managing those risks.”

Employee ignorance of cybersecurity best practices often represents one of the biggest gaps that can exist in your network defense. However, as experts like Ueckermann point out, everyone within an organization can become its best defender if armed with the right knowledge and training to be able to identify and respond to cyber risks. Informed personnel will avoid data breaches and malware infections, thus cutting costs from downtime, privacy regulation enforcement, and all the other expenses of a cyberattack.

Commit to Employee Cybersecurity Awareness Training

Successful network security requires building your business culture around the right ways to defend against an attack. Committing to awareness training and teaching your employees techniques for preventing intrusion will enable your business to avoid incurring the significant costs of a breach.

Ready to get started?

1. Download SWK Technologies’ guide to cybersecurity tips for employees.
2. Build a plan to turn your last line of defense into your best security solution.
3. Implement cybersecurity awareness training like one here.

Hector Bonilla is a copywriter with 10 years experience working with a variety media channels for a wide range of industry and nonprofit focuses. Currently, he is content writer with SWK Technologies Inc., overseeing content strategy and generation across all practices. SWK Technologies provides solutions and expertise that transform businesses and enable success. SWK Managed Cloud Services (MCS) is a cloud MSP and IaaS solutions provider that delivers a wide range of services for on-premise, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments.