READ TIME: 4 MIN
NexusTek Boot Camp: Cybersecurity Basic Training & Quiz
What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the process of protecting networks, systems, devices, and data from cybercriminals who want to access, capture or destroy information to extort or impede individuals or businesses.
Who are cybercriminals?
Whether a novice or an experienced threat actor—or team—cybercriminals utilize technology to execute malicious attacks that target infrastructure vulnerabilities and manipulate people.
How do cybercriminals attack?
Attackers rely on human psychology to trick users into completing a dangerous digital action, such as clicking a link, or divulging confidential information like passwords.
Here are a few common social engineering strategies you should examine in your cybersecurity training:
- Phishing attacks send fraudulent communications, including email, text or phone calls, to deceive the recipient into revealing sensitive data.
- Malware, including spyware, ransomware and viruses, can be installed on a device where the user clicked a suspicious link or downloaded a false email attachment.
- Spear phishing employs personal information, sometimes pulled from social media accounts, to make the targeted email attack appear legitimate.
Now that you know the enemy and their preferred forms of cyberattacks, let’s discuss four crucial steps in developing robust cybersecurity practices to protect your business.
1. Assess risks in your environment.
Not only is a cybersecurity risk assessment critical for the overall safety of your business and data, but it may be required for compliance with common industry standards such as NIST or HIPAA. A risk assessment will identify vulnerabilities within your networks, systems and devices that could pose risks to your business, finances, customers and reputation if left unguarded from a security breach. Employees who cannot identify malicious attacks also pose a risk. Gauge your employees’ knowledge with a mock phishing email campaign to gain a benchmark on their threat awareness before implementing cybersecurity training.
2. Train early and often.
Security awareness training should be an essential requirement of every employee—no exceptions—within your business. Cybersecurity training should be included in the onboarding process for new hires and assigned regularly to the whole company. Cybercriminals continue to develop new and more sophisticated tactics, so it is important to stay up to date on the latest defenses. Threat awareness training should not be an annual evaluation but a biannual or quarterly review. After a training session, you could also continue to issue mock phishing campaigns to track improvement and even assign refresher training to those who fail the phishing test.
3. Prevent and prepare for cyberattacks.
Even with cybersecurity training, employees may still become a victim of cleverly disguised malicious attacks. Actively prevent cyberattacks and decrease the margin for error with a strong spam filter. Utilize strong passcodes (not passwords) and Multi-Factor Authentication to stop breaches from fully penetrating the system. Routinely monitor your systems for vulnerabilities, perform alert response checks and keep antivirus software updated. Continuously backup your data and ensure rapid data recovery in the event of a loss to keep your business moving.
4. Establish an incident response plan.
An incident response plan informs employees who to report cybersecurity breaches to, such as the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), and what procedures to follow to ensure business continues without interruption. The CSIRT comprises skilled personnel who have the experience to conduct a structured investigation into the threat and provide a targeted response to contain and eradicate the threat. Once the security breach is resolved, the CSIRT focuses on recovery with patches and system updates to prevent another cyberattack from exploiting the same vulnerability.
Test your knowledge of security awareness and strategies in this 5-question quiz!
Has your business completed the four steps to a strong cybersecurity program?
NexusTek’s Cybersecurity Services provide comprehensive threat evaluation, detection and prevention.