Cybersecurity awareness
Most cyber incidents are caused by human error. Cybercriminals make clever use of naivety and complacency that every person has to some degree. Cyber risk awareness is therefore very important for the prevention of incidents.
Employees can unknowingly cause major damage to your business by, for example, using a malware-infected flash drive, being careless with (weak) passwords or failing to recognise a phishing email. These are all examples that can lead to serious cyber incidents.
It is important that cyber security becomes part of the daily routine within your business. Safe behaviour can be promoted by focusing on a safe culture (reporting incidents), learning from mistakes (adapting the culture) and raising awareness of security risks.
Launch a cyber awareness campaign
How do you structurally work on the cyber awareness of your organisation? With a cyber awareness campaign: Step-by-step Cyber Awareness Campaign (in Dutch)
Advice for creating cyber awareness
Below, you find advice and points of attention for creating cyber awareness within your organisation.
What's in it for me?
Changing habits is not that easy. It requires a positive attitude towards the subject of information security. It is important to make clear what the positive effects of the new habit are. In short, “What's in it for me?”
Continuously stimulate the alertness for cybersecurity
Information security is a challenge that requires continuous alertness and attention. This is partly due to rapid technological developments. If the damage has already been done, it is too late. It is important to stimulate constant alertness.
Increase knowledge and make people aware of cybercrime
How can you increase the alertness of directors, managers, and employees in the field of information security and ensure that they also act safely? The first step is to increase the knowledge of colleagues about the possible risks, whereby one habit (no alert security awareness) must be replaced by another (alertness). For example, if you have never had to do anything with security in your work, it is important that you create an information-secure environment. You do this by sketching real situations that are familiar to people. This can be done through an ongoing awareness campaign with the aim of increasing the awareness of colleagues and changing their habits.
Do not wait until it is too late
In short, choose an approach that is aimed at making all colleagues aware of and alert to the risks they run. What are the risks and what can and should you do yourself to limit them? Engage the management, because involved management will ensure a supported awareness campaign. In addition, it is of course important to test colleagues’ knowledge and associated habits. That way, that the measures – possibly per department or subject – can be adjusted accordingly. So, do not wait until it is too late and turn the weakest link – humans – into your strongest weapon.