User Education is Critical to Fending Off Cyber-Attacks

Cyber threats are currently top of mind for stakeholders in every vertical. Our consulting team is fielding many requests for Security Health Assessments (SHA) to help organizations better understand their current risk profile and identify appropriate steps to safeguard company data. These assessments cover a wide variety of company systems and processes with deep analysis of system configurations and the identification of evidence to guarantee systems functionality.The key to ensuring any cyber defense mechanism is successful is ensuring the toolsets in your security portfolio are components of an overall cyber security strategy.

When conducting customer assessments our team often sees common strategies in place such as firewalls and antivirus software, but the biggest gap in most strategies is ensuring the user base is armed with the right information to proactively identify an attack before they are entrapped by it. Multiple platforms currently exist with focus on educating users on common attacks, their mechanics, cyber security vocabulary, and how to avoid accidentally assisting an attacker. Cyber-attacks result in lost revenue, added expenses, and loss of reputation in the marketplace. The best defense always starts with a strong offense. It is estimated by some firms that cyber security education alone reduces the threat of phishing attacks by more than 80%! Platforms exist today that allow user training and testing with measured results. Training programs are typically budget friendly and provide some of the highest value per dollar spent on preventing cyber-attacks.

There are many solutions for educating your employees to identify threats before they breach your network. If you have any questions or would like to speak to our consulting team, contact Thrive today.