Introduction
As the world goes digital, communication with employees, customers and suppliers, and the operations of organizations depend hugely on technology. Nevertheless, this core reliance on technology has posed new risks in organizations whereby with increased usage of technologies, organizations are exposed to potential cyber threats such as data breaches, financial infections and threat to organizations’ image. Despite the fact that it is essential to ensure mechanical procedures and mechanisms for safeguarding information from cyber threats, perhaps the most important aspect of cyber security is often overlooked. Since most of the cyberattacks target individuals, it becomes evident that attempting to prevent them requires that employees be trained on how to avoid them. This work focuses on human element training as well as its effectiveness in countering cyber threats in business organizations.
Human Factor in Cybersecurity
As the human factor in cybersecurity the organizational vulnerabilities that can derive from employees’ actions can also be described as. It can be negligence of the way the employees dont take care of themselves,inegligence and also the employees are a soft target. Cyber threats mostly aim at the human factor, due to its occurrence in individuals who feel curiosity, fear and trust, therefore anyone can use one of these feelings towards infiltrating an organization’s network or pulling it’s sensitive data. This proves that, by minimizing the human aspect exposure to cyber threats, businesses can greatly reduce or even hide themselves from them.
Ways for Training Employees to Counter Cyber Threats
The need to train the human component becomes only possible through effective training of the employees with the aim of enhancing their understanding of cybersecurity. These training programs are to ensure the organization adopts or cultivates a security awareness programs which will ensure that everyone looks forward to identifying a possible security threat. The following are some critical aspects of training employees to combat cyber threats:
1. Raising Awareness
The first process in the training of the employees is to ensure that they understand what the different threats that may prevail in the cyber space are and how they may affect the company. Phishing emails, ransomware, social engineering and other types of malware are all threats. Increase the awareness of business employees on these threats will guarantee that the successful incidents will not occur and where they do, the impacts will be minimized.
2. Recognizing and Reporting Abnormal Behaviour
The employees should be let know of the different security threats that may be taking place at the workplace and should also be reported of any incident which is being noted. This involves recognizing emails or, links, or attachments that are probably from a malicious source or acts as phishes. Another variable that needs to be trained for is identifying trickery, such as pretexting, baiting, or tailgating by taking advantage of employees’ feeling of empathy and getting them to disclose further information or open doors for intruders.
3. Strong Password Enforcements
Another area of weakness that poses a lot of threat in any cyber security attack is the poor passwords used in accounts. Another process of reducing chances of unauthorized access is enforcement of a password policy that teaches the employees how to create a good password. In addition, passwords should be trained to protect the same plus common security blunders such as using their name, date of birth, or any number series.
4. Preventing Risky Use of the Internet
Employees need to know not to go to specific websites, open downloads from unknown parties, or share information over the wrong networks. Training also needs to include confidentiality aspects, for example, and recommend the secure means of communication to share sensitive items like encrypted email or communicating apps.
5. Performing Eg, Frequent simulated cyber attacks
In order to make the employees cautious of the cyber threats there is need to conduct security exercises or Cybersecurity Awareness Training. These drills ensure the employees to gain practical experiences in how to report, recognize and even handle cases of security threats. The results of the analysis based on the data collected by testing the reactions of the employees can help a business define its shortcomings and strengthen its security systems.
6. They continue to educate, and people can seek their help.
The nature of threat posed by information technology is dynamic and so are approaches used in training security personnel in handling cyber threats. Employees need to be kept constantly up to date on the latest security trends and practices by means of continuing training and support programs. Examples may range from updating training materials with information regarding the latest threats and countermeasures to providing access to material on cybersecurity or fostering an information sharing security community of employees.
Some of the challenges that organisations face in training Employees
Still, several issues may hamper the success of the training of employees to fight cyber threats, and these include the following. These challenges include:
1. Time Constraints: Organization’s workforce may fail to engage in cybersecurity training exercises, with acceptable reasons such as lack of time, or have more pressing organizational work to accomplish. It can also lead to a process of decision-making in the process of which untrained employees are brought or the lack of employee participation in decision making.
2. Resistance to Change: Old habits die hard, and some employees may unlikely to cooperate with new changes in relation to their behavior or security practices online.
3. Insufficient Training: That is why ill-conceived or poorly implemented training solutions may not be effective to respond to the threats an organization has, teach them how to avoid them, or to recognize them at the initial stage.
4. Lack of Follow-through: The way the employees handle cybersecurity in organizations is that they can undergo cybersecurity training and acquire the knowledge or the best practices needed but forget or neglect to apply them when they are at work hence not improving the organizations cybersecurity.
Conclusion
Human factor in cybersecurity: the possibility of protecting businesses from cyber threats. With awareness about security threats or risks among employees created, reporting and prevention conducted, organizations are less likely to be at the mercy of cyber crooks. To establish a useful personnel training programme, corporations have to emphasize learning about cybersecurity risks and risks associated with Internet use, encouraging the usage of good security practices, setting complicated passwords, practicing cybersecurity drills frequently, as well as continuous training.
Addressing the human factor in cybersecurity is a continuous process and good practice requires an investment both, of the organisation and its people. When the human element of a firm is trained comprehensively on security measures, a firm becomes protected against_bearing the brunt of a cyber attack.
