The Role of Employee Training in Preventing Data Breaches

You may have heard the phrase, “Data is the new oil”. Essentially, the value of data has officially surpassed that of gold, oil and many other resources. Today, data is an organisation’s most valuable asset, and this is especially true in data-intensive industries like healthcare. And naturally, like with any prized asset, bad actors out there want to get their hands on it. For this reason, healthcare was in the top three most attacked industries in 2022 1.

So how can companies in the health sector reduce their risk of cyberattacks? The answer could lie with your employees.

Why Employees Are the Weak Link in Your Cybersecurity Chain

Here’s the bottom line. Cybercriminals can only steal data and wreak havoc once they find a way into the network, and employees are often the preferred access point. This worrying trend is reflected in the data - an eye-watering 82% of data breaches are linked to human-related vulnerabilities like workers falling for phishing attacks, other social engineering tactics, and cybercriminals leveraging stolen employee credentials (usernames and passwords) 2.

Yet, despite this, only 1 in 9 companies provided cybersecurity training to non-cyber employees in 2020 3.

Benefits of Cybersecurity Awareness Training

There are several benefits to cybersecurity awareness training, including:

1. Reduced risk of cyberattacks: By educating employees on common cyber threats and how to avoid them, companies can significantly reduce the risk of successful cyberattacks. This is because employees are often the first line of defence against cyber threats.
2. Compliance with regulations and standards: Healthcare is subject to stringent regulations and standards regarding information security. Cybersecurity awareness training can help organisations ensure that their employees understand and comply with these regulations and standards and reduce the company’s risk of incurring costly fines.
3. Improved incident response: In the event of a cyber incident, employees who have received cybersecurity awareness training are better equipped to respond appropriately. This can include identifying the source of the incident, mitigating its impact, and reporting it to the appropriate team or authorities.
4. Protection of company reputation: A successful cyberattack can significantly impact a company’s reputation. By investing in cybersecurity awareness training, organisations can demonstrate their commitment to protecting their employees, customers, and partners from cyber threats. This can help build trust and confidence in the company’s ability to secure sensitive data.

What Should Security Awareness Training Look Like?

Many companies make the mistake of conducting one-off security awareness sessions that overwhelm employees with information or, worse, are forgettable. To be effective, training needs to be persistent and provided in regular, bite-sized doses that fit employees’ busy schedules.

It’s a good idea to focus on the most successful social engineering tactics, like phishing emails. For example, you can educate employees on the typical anatomy of phishing emails, including:

• Demands for urgent action (we make poor decisions when acting quickly).
• Bad grammar and spelling mistakes.
• Awkward or unfamiliar greetings like “Hi Dear.”
• Inconsistent email addresses, links, and domain names.
• Suspicious attachments, especially ones with file extensions typically used in malware (.zip, .exe, .scr).

Equally important, employees need to be educated on the need for strong passwords and the reason behind them. This is especially critical because one report found that while 97% of employees know what makes a strong password, 53% admit not always using one. Moreover, 60% of employees reuse passwords across business and personal accounts 4.

Wrapping Up

Put simply, by investing in ongoing employee training and adopting a security-focused culture, companies can create a human firewall against cyber threats, reducing the risk of data breaches and protecting sensitive information.

References

1. https://www.cybsafe.com/blog/7-reasons-why-security-awareness-training-is-important/
2. https://hrnews.co.uk/over-60-of-employees-reuse-passwords-across-business-and-personal/
3. https://healthitsecurity.com/news/global-cyberattacks-increased-by-38-last-year-healthcare-hit-hard
4. https://www.thesslstore.com/blog/19-security-awareness-statistics-you-should-know-before-offering-training/