IN THE Philippines, the Fortinet Cybersecurity Skills Gap 2024 report revealed that 94 percent of surveyed organizations experienced one or more security breaches in 2023, primarily driven by the skills gap. Recovering from these breaches consumes significant time and resources, with corporate leaders even facing increasing accountability.
As cybercriminals continue to evolve their tactics while cybersecurity professionals contend with persistent challenges, it’s a timely reminder that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility across the entire organization, involving not just the IT and cybersecurity decision-makers. Every employee plays a crucial role and stake in protecting the assets of the company.
Here’s why:
– Employees constitute the best first line of cyber defense. Beyond having a skilled security team and the right tools, it is crucial to train employees in cybersecurity best practices, as cybercriminals often exploit human vulnerabilities to infiltrate organizations’ networks. The 2024 Fortinet study identified a lack of employee awareness as a critical issue, and most respondent organizations have therefore indicated plans to implement security awareness and training programs for all employees. Properly trained employees can recognize and prevent potential threats, making them the first line of defense against cyberattacks. That is why creating an effective cybersecurity awareness training program is essential, as it equips employees with the knowledge and skills they need to identify and respond to risks.
– Proper cyber training and awareness initiatives empower everyone. Implementing cybersecurity training and awareness programs is important for equipping employees with the knowledge they need to identify and avoid cyberthreats. These programs play a significant role in strengthening an organization’s overall defense against cyberattacks.
While some companies can develop their own training initiatives, others may lack the necessary resources. Fortunately, there are external training and certification programs available, such as the Fortinet Training Institute’s Network Security Expert (NSE) program that can educate employees and enhance the skills of security teams. Organizations in the country can encourage their employees to take advantage of the NSE program, which offers self-paced and instructor-led courses that enable basic up to advanced levels of proficiency.
– Cybersecurity training programs must align with the company’s priorities. When developing or updating a cybersecurity awareness training program, organizations should begin by clearly defining the program’s goals and ensuring they align with the company’s specific needs. Once the objectives are established, leaders can help come up with the appropriate training format and schedule for the program. It is important to collaborate with various teams across departments to foster organization-wide support.
Even as training programs should be customized to meet the unique requirements of businesses in different industries, there are key cybersecurity topics that all employees must be familiar with.
– Utilizing strong passwords. Passwords are essential for protecting data from cybercriminals. Employees should learn how to create strong, complex passwords that are difficult for attackers to guess.
– Using multi-factor authentication (MFA). This type of authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide two or more verification factors before accessing an account to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
– Understanding social engineering-based attacks. Cybercriminals frequently use social engineering techniques to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information, which can compromise an organization’s security. Employees should be trained to recognize the signs of a social engineering attack and know the appropriate steps to take if they are targeted.
– Updating software regularly. Keeping software and applications updated is crucial for patching vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could exploit. Employees should understand the importance of regularly installing updates to ensure that systems remain protected against the latest threats.
Fortinet offers strategies for building an employee awareness program that empowers an organization’s workforce to be the first line of defense against cyberthreats.
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