As phishing continues to be a top threat to your business' cybersecurity, it is important to employ creative strategies to prepare & educate your employees on what phishing is and how to avoid putting your business' data at risk.
Phishing is the process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity using bulk email which tries to evade spam filters.
According to recent research from Proofpoint, 75% of organizations around the world experienced a phishing attack in 2020, and 74% of attacks targeting US businesses were successful.
One way to help battle the growing threat of phishing in your business is by regularly employing Phishing testing to educate your users and following up with training to help address weak spots in your user base.
Why Phish Test?
Phishing testing is an applicable way to really see what your employees need to be educated on and to see which kinds of phishing attempts your users may be most susceptible to falling for. Phishing testing lets you see exactly where your weak points are when it comes to phishing and helps you set up more training for users who may need it.
Phishing and training your users as your last line of defense is one of the best ways to protects yourself from attacks.
Here are 4 basic steps to follow:
Baseline Testing: assess the Phish-prone percentage of your users before training them. You want to know the level of attack they will and won't fall for as well as have data to measure future success.
Train Your Users: with on-demand, interactive, and engaging training so they really get the message
Phish Your Users: regularly to reinforce the training and continue the learning process
See the Results: for both training and phishing, getting as close to 0% phish-prone as you possibly can.
Remember that awareness in and of itself is only one piece of defense but it is crucial. You can't and shouldn't do this alone and you can't and shouldn't train on everything. It is important to have explicit goals before starting and decide specific behaviors that you want to shape.
Remember that your users are only going to truly care about what they feel is relevant to them. The ongoing process of phishing your users and training will help them make smarter security decisions.
Regularly phish testing your users and setting up security awareness training is a must for all businesses. With the rampant growth of security breaches affecting businesses of all sizes, it is vital that your users are aware of the implications of phishing and know what and how to avoid it.
To learn more about phishing your users and to begin the process of phishing testing and security awareness training please contact us or call us at 574-534-2830