Creating a culture of cyber security at work

In today’s technology landscape, the threat of cyber attacks poses a bigger risk to businesses than they ever have before. New vulnerabilities continue to emerge, and hackers are constantly inventing and perfecting methods of bypassing defences to access sensitive, vital data.

Cultivating a strong cyber security and encouraging people to contribute on an individual level is one of the ways you can help mitigate enterprise security risks.

What is a cyber security culture?

It’s the thoughts, ideas, assumptions, values, and behaviours of your people related to cyber security. If your company has a good cyber security culture, it means that your policies and procedures align with the attitudes of your staff – and there’s an organisation-wide understanding that responsibility for cyber safety doesn’t just lie with the security technology, but with each person.

Importance of a strong cyber security culture

Why is cyber security culture important? It’s the foundation of your organisation’s ability to protect itself. If a threat emerges, your response and recovery is more likely to be successful if your people are educated and prepared to take action.

Phishing scams, for example, are one of the most common but most avoidable cyber attacks. If your staff know what to look for, they can take simple steps to check if an email is legitimate before clicking on a link that could contain malware – preventing an attack before it even happens.

There are other benefits too. A strong cyber security culture shows your customers that you take protecting their data seriously, building trust and creating a good reputation for your organisation in the market.

How to improve cyber security culture

1. Invest in cyber technology 

Culture starts at the top, and when you invest in a strong security infrastructure you are showing your team how important cyber security is to your company culture. Implementing security solutions like a managed firewall and endpoint protection not only helps protect your people – it also demonstrates your commitment to getting the foundations of your cyber security right.

2. Provide regular education and training

Once you’ve got the tech, making sure your staff have the right education and training around cyber security is the key to changing the culture. Attitudes won’t shift unless everyone understands the major risks cyber attacks pose, and recognises that it’s everyone’s responsibly to keep things secure.

Cyber security training doesn’t need to be boring – you could try regular ‘spot the scam’ activities where your team can vote on what’s a legitimate versus a scam email. Get your team familiar with what different attacks look like so they’re ready to respond.

3. Establish clear policies and procedures

The best way to make sure everyone has shared beliefs around cyber security is through establishing policies and procedures for your staff. Entwining cyber security with your operations means behaviours will shift, and secure practices will become second nature.

For example, you might share clear guidelines on how to create a strong password, or have a vetting process for emails received from unknown addresses.

4. Encourage knowledge sharing with good internal communications

Proper communication with your staff, including taking on feedback, is integral to creating a cyber security culture. Prioritise keeping threat detection at the forefront of people’s minds, and get people sharing their experiences.

Creating a place where people can share knowledge and flag their security concerns can help build an open and transparent cyber security culture. This could look like a Teams forum, or discussion board in your company intranet.

5. Call out good behaviour

Emotions and attitudes are a massive driver for behaviour. Want your staff to practise good cyber security? Acknowledge good behaviour and they’ll want to keep it up. It’s a psychological fact that people are responsive to rewards, so don’t focus on things that are being done wrong and instead pay attention to what’s done right. You can even implement a reward system. Say someone notices a phishing attempt – great! Let the whole team know about this win with a shout out.

How Rubicon 8 can help

Whether you’re looking for a comprehensive cyber security audit to identify vulnerabilities, or you want tips for cyber security training, our solutions architects are here to help. We’ll show you and your people how to mitigate attacks, and the best way to respond if something happens. Get in touch today.

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