5 ways to empower your people to protect your organization

Your employees know your business better than anyone. They often have a personal stake in its success, after all. Yet, while your people are your greatest strength, they can often (accidentally) put your organization in harm's way. According to a Verizon report, 82% of data breaches involved a human element in 202, while 14% of those were mistakes made by human error.Your IT and security team can’t catch every single incident, so it’s crucial that you train your people on how to keep general security threats at bay. With awareness and the right know-how, you can avoid folks getting complacent about the security measures that protect your organization. In this post, we’ll explore five ways you can tap into the power of your people and keep your business safe. Let's dive in.

1. Create effective onboarding programs

25% of new employees lost their jobs due to cyber security mistakes. What’s more, over one-third (36%) of employees admit to compromising security, with fewer reporting their mistakes to IT out of fear.This causes a huge problem for businesses, specifically IT and workplace security teams. It can be difficult to track where issues first came from. One effective way of combating this problem is to ensure new employees learn security processes and procedures when they first start during onboarding. This will help them avoid creating bad habits and keep your business safe.

2. Provide security awareness training regularly

Consider this: phishing is the most common form of cyber attacks for all organizations, but only 52% of people know what phishing is.Teaching your employees how to keep your business safe and secure is the best preventative measure you can take. Teach your team about the dangers of weak passwords, phishing scams, and letting an unregistered visitor onto the premises. When your employees have a better understanding of the types of attacks and why they happen, they can put their learnings into practice to avoid them.

3. Ensure leadership set good examples

According to a 2022 report, nearly half (49%) of C-suite executives report that they have requested to bypass one or more security measures in the last year. Pressure from the top can have detrimental ripple effects throughout your organization. Your employees and wider teams may view security as less important, and may start to cut corners themselves where digital security is concerned. It’s impossible for IT and security teams to monitor everyone. Ensure your leadership sets a good example of security measures for their employees to follow.

4. Consider merging IT and security teams

Your physical and digital security work in equal measure to keep your company, people, and data safe. Without one, the other is compromised. For some organizations, particularly smaller businesses, it might make sense to merge your IT and security functions. This will not only give you a more consolidated view of your security, but it’ll also help both parties communicate more effectively together.

5. Invest in technology that your people can use easily

According to a 2021 report from NordPass, over 100 million people around the world use the password “123456”. It is the most popular choice of password, and it takes one second for hackers to crack. Use technology to good use when it comes to digital security. Passwords account for 80% of all hacking-related attacks. With a simple password protection tool, your people can rely on technology to generate safe passwords for them.  Of course, passwords are only a small snippet of security tools that people can use to protect their information and your organization. Look out for technology tools that your employees can understand and use easily and without fuss.

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The world of security is changing fast, and it’s easy to let it slip down the priority list when so many other things need attention. But being proactive and preventative is better than being too late. Your employees can be your best line of defense, as long as they are properly trained and aware of security threats.

Follow the five strategies above to empower your employees to protect your organization. With the right training, you can equip your people with the knowledge and skills to keep workplace threats at bay.