Category: Cybersecurity
Benefits of Cybersecurity Awareness Training
The Power of Cybersecurity Training: Safeguarding Your Digital Assets
In an increasingly interconnected world, where cyber threats loom large, threat actors are smarter than ever, and data breaches make headlines. To combat this threat, we must take proactive measures to protect our digital assets. Cybersecurity training, in general, plays a pivotal role in equipping us with the knowledge and skills necessary to defend against cyberattacks, and maintain a more secure digital environment.
In 2021, 98% of cyberattacks relied on social engineering. According to PurpleSec (2021)
Social Engineering is a category of cyber threats focused on humans and their social behaviors. Right now, Social Engineering is the most prevalent attack vector because it preys on the uneducated person’s “likely” behaviors. Hackers use these behaviors to gain access to your systems and assets. The key to combating these Social Engineering threats is to educate, and thereby change that behavior.
In this article, we explore the compelling benefits of Cybersecurity Awareness Training as a tool to combat Social Engineering threats, and how they can provide measurable value in securing your organization.
Heightened Awareness and Threat Recognition
Cybersecurity Awareness Training serves as a powerful tool to educate your organization about the various types of cyber threats and attack vectors that they are exposed to. By educating on the latest techniques used by hackers, your staff becomes more adept at recognizing potential threats. These threats include phishing emails, malware, or social engineering attempts. Recognizing these threats means faster detection and reporting of suspicious activities, mitigating the risk of successful cyberattacks.
Exercising and Testing Knowledge
It’s critical to understand where your organization is in terms of Cybersecurity Awareness. Providing knowledge is the first step to increasing that awareness. But, exercising that knowledge is what really changes the behavior. The best way to exercise is through real world testing.
An effective CyberSecurity Awareness Training program includes the periodic testing of users with safe Social Engineering attacks, such as phishing emails, to record their actual behavior. Did the user click the link, or did the follow protocol and report it to the Security Team? Or did they at least delete it? Measuring the results of these exercises across your organization will give you the insights you need to continuously improve your stance against cyberattack.
Reducing Vulnerabilities and Improving Response
It’s not a matter of IF you will be hacked. It’s a matter of when. What is critical is how quickly and effectively you respond when it happens.
A well-trained workforce is a crucial line of defense against cyber threats. Cybersecurity Awareness Training equips your organization with the skills not only to identify the threats, but respond to them when they happen. And eventually, they will happen.
Another fundamental part of Cybersecurity Awareness is understanding the risks associated with the digital endpoints, a.k.a. the Desktops, Mobile Devices, Servers, and Online Services that are the foundations of your digital footprint. Understanding the importance of basic security fundamentals as password protection, timely patching, and regular backups is paramount. By exercising these fundamentals, your team contributes to a proactive security culture, and thereby reduce risk. Adopting automation tools and having dedicated resources to enforce behavior is the key.
Furthermore, training modules on incident response enable organizations to minimize the impact of an attack by swiftly containing and remedying the breach, mitigating potential financial and reputational damages.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity training is a pillar in safeguarding your organization against ever-evolving threats. By increasing awareness, strengthening defense strategies, and reducing vulnerabilities, organizations and individuals can significantly reduce the risks associated with cyberattacks. Investing in comprehensive cybersecurity training programs not only protects sensitive data, but also instills a “security-first” mindset among your staff. Remember, when it comes to cybersecurity, knowledge is power, and training is the key to unlocking it.
When it comes to cybersecurity, knowledge is power, and training is the key to unlocking it.
If you would like to discuss your current Cybersecurity posture, we are here to help. To get a no obligation consultation with a CMHWorks Cybersecurity expert, please feel free to reach us at info@cmhworks.com. Take a look at some of the managed security solutions we offer here.
Additional Information
- https://www.cshub.com/attacks/news/social-engineering-most-dangerous-threat-say-75-of-security-professionals
- https://cmhworks.com/solutions/cybersecurity/cybersecurity-awareness-training/
- https://www.eccouncil.org/cybersecurity-exchange/ethical-hacking/understanding-preventing-social-engineering-attacks/
IT Security Primer for SMBs
How big of a deal is IT Security for SMBs?
No business is too small. Small and mid-sized businesses are the number one targeted segment of cybercrime. It’s not a question of if you will be attacked, it’s a question of when.
SMB IT Security
A PRIMER FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES
American University and Hacker U Select CMHWorks as a Hiring Partner
American University & HackerU has chosen CMHWorks as a recruitment partner to consider candidates who have completed their Cybersecurity Security Professional Program. With the threat of cyberattacks on the rise, the program recognizes how appealing an IT Professional with a Cybersecurity knowledge base can be to a company like CMHWorks.
Washington, DC – July, 12, 2021. Israel’s premier digital skill and cybersecurity institute, HackerU, has been partnering with educational institutes worldwide, currently in 12 countries. In 2019, HackerUSA, a subsidiary, has partnered with American University, based out of Washington, DC.
According to Bryan Gulcin, Business Relations Manager at HackerUSA in recent LinkedIn post,
“We are happy to collaborate with CMHWorks and add them to American University‘s and HackerU‘s growing list of hiring partners!”
Mike Harvey, founder and principal owner of CMHWorks, has more than 30 years of experience as a Technology and Operations executive with broad experience in enterprise technology strategy, development, implementation, and management. He founded CMHWorks, LLC in 2014 to provide Technology Services and Support to public and private sector clients.
Cyber Security in an Increasingly Digital Workforce
On December 14, 2020 the NY Times published the article Russian Hackers Broke Into Federal Agencies, U.S. Officials Suspect.
The breach of the software, known as SolarWinds, was so alarming that an order went out directing confirmation the software was no longer in use, by Monday. Yes, Monday.
The U.S. Government is a gigantic bureaucracy. Time is measured in years or decades. Demanding anything be done in under a week is itself unprecedented.
It took place during COVID. Another thing going on during COVID was unparalleled use of the internet for working remotely. As millions of workers, government and otherwise logged in each morning to collaborate remotely, the Russians were turned in. Oh, and the Chinese (CCP) were too.
A September 2020, NYTimes report, China-Backed Hackers Broke Into 100 Firms and Agencies, U.S. Says reported “a group of hackers associated with China’s main intelligence service had infiltrated more than 100 companies and organizations around the world to steal intelligence, hijack their networks and extort their victims.”
This is massively disconcerting to any U.S. business working online. The threat is particularly grave for tech companies. Russia and China have been stealing U.S. technology for decades. A quick comparison of airplanes manufactured by either country illustrates how much these two superpowers like to copy American ideas and hardware.
If you have remote work sites, you are at greater risk than you if all your computer infrastructure is in-house. We recommend steps to help mitigate the threat while you figure out long term fixes.
At a minimum, run your network thorough a VPN service. It gives you encrypted connectivity to the and prevents easy identification of your physical location when online. Be ever more wary of unexpected or hard to identify communications.
Until organizations can install the hardware needed for more secure remote workplaces (often homes), the organizational culture needs to be one of caution at a level above what was commonplace when staff was on under the company’s roof.
InfoSec Essentials on A Budget — Part 2 of 2
Part 1 of our information security article focused on defining and discussing the importance of a proper security posture for small and medium-sized businesses. Now let’s review the potential costs of doing so.
Is infosec possible for budget-minded businesses?
If hiring a full-time chief information security officer (CISO) or information security analyst is too expensive, and employees don’t have the time or knowledge to handle infosec themselves, what are SMBs to do? Some mistakenly believe that moving their IT operations to a public cloud provider like AWS or Microsoft Azure will take security problems off their plate. This is because many cloud hosting providers have some security and compliance features built in. But are they enough to fully satisfy the standards of actual clients?
Read the entire article on Medium.
InfoSec Essentials on A Budget – Part 1 of 2
The IT Security fears that keep companies up at night are particularly pressing lately in the area of information security — commonly referred to as infosec — which primarily revolves around securing data from unauthorized access. An ever-expanding attack surface, novel threat types, high-profile data breaches in the news and new privacy legislation like GDPR and CCPA have many companies questioning whether they have their infosec act together.
In an exacerbating twist, the escalating squeeze on data security and compliance comes at a time when data analytics to improve marketing, sales and product strategies is all the rage. Many are suddenly unsure about what is okay and not okay in terms of customer data use considering the new privacy legislation. Needing kid gloves to handle data isn’t just the problem of companies in sectors like healthcare and financial services anymore. Thanks to these trends, just about everyone’s grumbling about it.
Read the entire article on Medium.