Cybersecurity 1: Fundamentals for Employees

Cyberattacks are increasing at an alarming rate. Radware reported that there were 2.3 billion data breaches in 2018 – almost three times more than the year before – which cost companies about $600 billion. Most companies have installed firewalls and other cyber defenses to stop cyberattacks, but they are not foolproof. In fact, one of the key risk factors in cyberattacks is human error. A recent Intel Security survey found that 97 per cent of people could not identify all the phishing emails in a sample of 10 emails.

The need for training of non-IT staff is critically important. This one-day course will ensure that staff gain an appreciation of company-wide measures to protect against cyberattacks and their own role in the success of these defense measures. Most importantly, it will help staff recognize phishing attacks, and when a cyberattack has been successful, understand what steps to take to mitigate the effect. The importance of practicing safe social media behavior to prevent cyber criminals from mining sensitive personal and company data will also be discussed. In the capstone activity each participant will create a personal cybersecurity plan.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the history and the current state of cyberattacks in terms of quantity and cost to business
Recall and explain the methods used in various types of cyberattacks
Outline the risk of human error in inadvertently contributing to the success of cyberattacks
List company-wide measures to protect against cyberattacks and their role in the success of these defense measures
Explain the importance of a company culture that focuses on cybersecurity to successfully defend against attacks
Recognize the social media mining activities of cyber criminals and be better able to practice safe social media behavior
Define the information needed in a social media security policy
Describe and practice good security behaviors when working remotely or travelling
Recognize phishing attacks by identifying the subtle clues that are present in all phishing attacks
Describe what steps to take to mitigate the effect of a cyberattack
Create a personal cybersecurity plan