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Antivirus is one solution but training your staff is another

Training your staff on how to properly report and handle cyber security threats could save you time and money.

By RoundWorks ITPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Antivirus is one solution but training your staff is another
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Security has always tended to be most effective when technology and humans work together. For example in the early days of human history, you had drawbridges watched by guards.

These days you have automated IT defences and staff training, which go hand in hand when defending you and your business against the plethora of pesky cyber threats that are out there.

On that note, here is what you need to know about how having an effective anti-virus and staff training program can benefit your business.

Automated solutions are your first line of defence

The sheer volume of threats means that automated solutions have to be your first line of defence. They are getting better all the time. It is, however, extremely unlikely that they will ever be able to work independently of humans.

There are three main reasons for this. Firstly, new cyberthreats are continually being developed. This means that automated solutions need to be updated to recognize any new threats that pop up. Until this update is processed the automated solution will be unable to recognize the new threat. You will therefore have to rely on human vigilance.

Secondly, even automated solutions can generally only scan for a limited number of threats. If they tried to scan for every known threat, scans would take so long they would be a significant block on work. Security companies therefore basically have to split the difference and scan for the likeliest and/or most serious threats.

Thirdly, if you leave an automated defence unattended for long enough, someone will find a way to breach it. Automated defences work best as a delaying tactic. They fend off malicious attackers while the humans work on a solution.

IT staff are your second line of defence

Your IT staff are the people who figure out your cybersecurity strategy and how to implement it. Most of this is going to consist of basic housekeeping (like updates) and robust monitoring. This is where automated solutions come in.

Some of it will consist of setting rules, policies and guidelines for end-users. Where possible, these should be enforced through automated controls, for example, password standards. Ideally, however, these controls should act simply as a guard against genuine human error. They should not be the default option for enforcing good cybersecurity practices.

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, people tend to respond better to encouragement than enforcement. Secondly, if staff understand the why they may be able to apply that understanding to new situations. At least they will have a chance of doing so.

Staff training is your final line of defence

Generally, you can and should block the vast majority of threats before they get anywhere near your staff. Firstly, this saves their time (for which you are paying). Secondly, it reduces the chances of them falling victim to an attack and hence potentially compromising your whole company.

You can stack the odds even more in your favour by training your staff on the basics of cybersecurity. They don’t need to grasp the technical details. They do, however, need to grasp the basics of the most prevalent threats and what that means for them. In particular, they need to know how to defend themselves (and you) against social-engineering attacks.

Ideally, this training should be customized to each job role. At the very least, it should have some clear relevance to each person’s job. It may also be worth pointing out to staff that learning about cybersecurity will help to keep them safe outside of work too.

Knowing what to look out for is half the battle. If you can avoid even coming close to a cyber threat or downloading a harmful file then the lives of your IT staff can become a lot less stressful allowing them to utilise their time more efficiently.

cybersecurity
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About the Creator

RoundWorks IT

RoundWorks IT are specialists in Managed IT Support, including, backup and disaster recovery, cyber security and more for businesses across East Midlands.

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