The best way to teach your people data security, is to test them – when they least expect it

Would you like to know who is putting your company at risk? And to change their behaviour?

Your people are an easier target for criminals than your technology – 91% of data breaches happen because someone clicks on an email they should delete.

As someone responsible for managing risk you want to know who is likely to take risks and make them less likely to do it.

One powerful way to retain learning is by making painful mistakes. They stay with us because of the emotional, and other, costs. Cybercriminals are predicted to collect $5 billion in ransoms in 2017. When you add in reputational damage – to firms and careers – that’s an expensive, reactive way to train staff.

What’s a better way?

Simulate an attack. Test them when they are not expecting it. See how they behave and then be clear and helpful about what they need to do differently. Support them with expert, easily digestible, relevant training materials.

At The Final Step Limited we get asked how building a security-conscious culture can be translated into real world action. We recommend a training methodology and platform that makes your compliance job much easier and more effective:

• You grow secure behaviour that lasts. Learning sticks more because it feels like the real world. Confronted with real mistakes we become more vigilant.
• You pinpoint and reinforce what is most relevant to you by tailoring tests and frequency. You build and sustain vigilance, as well as keeping up to speed with the latest threats.
• You demonstrate improving compliance. Each test produces a score showing how prone individuals, departments or your company are to facilitating attacks. As you learn, your score improves.
• There is a large library of expert, easily digestible materials that you can assign to people.

If your job is to ensure data security you’ll want to know details on the mechanics of the platform, how easy it is to implement and maintain. Email me at simon@thefinalstep.co.uk or call 020 7572 0000 to find out.