Cybersecurity Trends

Every organization needs to ensure cybersecurity awareness among employees to help protect data and systems. It’s important that employees understand and are mindful of the day to day situations that could actually cause harm to the company if they are not careful.

Risks in the cyber landscape include phishing, hacking, identity theft, ransomware, viruses and more. The threat landscape is always changing and becoming more sophisticated and sadly employees are often the weakest link when it comes to keeping data secure - they are not always up-to-date with what’s new in cyber security.

Business leaders need to be responsible to ensure that their employees understand risks and their own personal cybersecurity responsibilities and obligations. It goes well beyond sending a one-off cybersecurity awareness email to employees. Cyber threats are here to stay, so the future of cybersecurity involves ongoing, constant vigilance.

Creating and delivering a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness campaign that keeps abreast of cybersecurity trends can help to keep this issue front-of-mind for staff in your company.

Step-by-step guide to creating a cybersecurity awareness program

Different organizations have different needs. There are different threats across industries, and the level of knowledge of cyber security among employees can also vary differently. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to delivering a cybersecurity awareness campaign, but the following steps will provide a solid foundation to ensure your employees know what’s new in cyber security.

1. Set goals

The first step is to determine what you want to achieve and define your cyber security campaign’s scope based on the specific needs of your organization, cybersecurity industry trends and the future of cybersecurity for your business. This should be set out in a plan that you can take action and measure.

2. Ensure you have buy-in from management

It’s critical to have agreement about the importance of cybersecurity from the top down to every level of management within the organization so that you can influence attitudes and behaviors appropriately. This is important for ensuring the future of cybersecurity in your organization.

3. Clearly outline your policies and procedures

It is important to have clear and easy to understand policies and procedures in place around cyber security that set out expectations for employees and their obligations to use computer systems appropriately to keep data safe. Having employees acknowledge this helps to keep them accountable.

4. Deliver cyber security awareness and education

Understanding your goals and specific needs, you can then tailor your security awareness campaign to suit your objectives: what are the risks you need to communicate and educate about? What are the current cybersecurity trends? Providing the right information to your employees about the common risks and steps that they can take to detect and mitigate risk will help to protect your business.

5. Choose different cyber security awareness topics

Having an ongoing cybersecurity awareness campaign means that you can continuously deliver information to employees about different cybersecurity topics. For example, one month you may do a topic on password protocols, the next it may be broadly about what’s new in cyber security or on other cybersecurity topics such as phishing or ransomware.

6. Test your employees’ knowledge

Regularly testing employees’ knowledge about cyber security and information security trends can help you to determine if there are any weaknesses or gaps in their knowledge that need to be addressed through the development of any additional educational materials.

7. Use a multi-channel approach to communications

Best practice in internal communications includes using different delivery channels to communicate the same message. This is based on research that shows that you often need to deliver the same information several times before it resonates and sticks with employees. It also reflects that different people have different preferences and styles when it comes to receiving information.

8. Include cyber security in employee onboarding

Cyber security awareness needs to begin from the very first day an employee begins with your organization. By including it in your employee onboarding process you can ensure that all new staff have a consistent level of education and awareness, and you can also bring your brand new employees up to speed with the rest of the employee cohort.

9. KEEP ON TOP OF EMERGING CYBERECURITY TRENDS

The one thing we know about the future of cybersecurity is that there will always be new and sophisticated ways that cyber criminals will try to exploit vulnerabilities and attack businesses.  It’s crucial to stay up-to-date with emerging cybersecurity trends and threats and introduce them to your employees where appropriate so that you can be on the front-foot and not taken by surprise. 

Read more: Corporate Password Policy - 10 Rules to Ensure Cybersecurity in 2024

10. Evaluate your efforts

There’s always room for improvement, but you won’t know what to improve if you don’t have metrics that you can measure. Have you found deficiencies? Has your employees’ knowledge improved?  When you have data, you can use it to inform people about any further cyber security initiatives. This helps you to map out the future of cybersecurity measures in your organization. 

How DeskAlerts can help you run cyber security campaigns

DeskAlerts is an internal communication software system that is versatile and can help organizations to overcome many different communication challenges, including improving cyber security awareness and keeping people aware of cybersecurity trends.

The system features many different communication tools and channels and is designed to grab attention and cut through the digital noise of the modern workplace.

DeskAlerts is a key tool in managing the future of cybersecurity awareness and will enable you to:

• Send rich multimedia content that employees will notice
• Use channels such as screensavers, corporate wallpapers and password screens to deliver custom and timely cyber security messages
• Deliver video content such as tutorials straight to employees’ screens
• Send messages via pop-up alerts or scrolling desktop tickers
• Send urgent full screen alerts to computers when there is a critical cyber security incident that is threatening your business
• Let people know about the top cybersecurity threats and emergency cybersecurity trends so they can stay vigilant.
• Use digital signage in your company to compliment your campaign initiatives
• Test your employees’ knowledge using the surveys, polls and quiz module
• Ask for and receive acknowledgment that employees have read and agree to abide by policies and procedures
• Gather engagement metrics in real time so you can plan for the future of cybersecurity in your organization.

DeskAlerts messages can be scheduled ahead of time, which is great when you are creating an ongoing campaign. You can also send messages to specific audience segments, tailored to their needs. Messages can also be sent in different languages and to different time zones.

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Data and systems security is one of the biggest challenges for business today,  particularly as the threat landscape and cybersecurity trends change all the time . Get in touch with our team today to find out how DeskAlerts can help you educate and inform your employees about cyber threats and keep ahead of information security trends.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cyber security campaign?

A cyber security campaign is an awareness effort directed at a specific group of individuals, such as employees, providing information about cyber threats with the aim of increasing understanding of the risks so that they can take appropriate steps to avoid them.

What are the 5 types of cyber security?

There are five main types of cyber security to be aware of:

• Critical infrastructure cyber security
• Network security
• Internet of Things (IoT) security as one of the key trends in internet security
• Application security
• Cloud security.

How can we promote cybersecurity awareness?

The main ways to promote cybersecurity awareness include:

• Getting leadership on board.
• Making sure everyone understands they have a role to play in keeping systems secure.
• Understanding the threats your business faces and keeping on top of cybersecurity trends and internet security.
• Provide training and education.
• Send regular reminders.

What are the 10 steps in cyber security?

The 10 key steps in cyber security are:

1. Use strong passwords and regularly change them.
2. Ensure software is kept up-to-date
3. Be mindful and cautious about clicking links.
4. Use a firewall and antivirus software.
5. Regularly back up data.
6. Be aware of phishing scams.
7. Don't share personal information online.
8. Always use two-factor authentication.
9. Be cautious about what you download.
10. Stay informed and educated about cybersecurity trends and be aware of the top cybersecurity threats..

What is the 90/10 rule in cyber security?

The 90/10 rule of cyber security is a concept that 90% of cyber security activities in an organization focus on policies and procedures while the other 10% is about having the right technology in place. This works on the premise that most cyber security breaches occur because of the human factor involved and there is a need to focus on mitigating this risk by providing employees with guidance and education.

What is cyber security 10 points?

It’s a good idea to create a checklist to follow to ensure that your organization has all its bases covered when it comes to the future of cybersecurity for your team. Here are 10 key points:

1. Audit your current cyber security measures to see if they are fit-for-purpose and capture the current trends in cybersecurity.
2. Implement best practice cyber security measures such as requiring strong passwords, using two factor authentication etc.
3. Protect your data by keeping software updated and perform back ups.
4. Invest in the appropriate resources to keep your customers’ data safe and ensure it complies with appropriate privacy legislation.
5. Develop and implement a cyber security policy for your organization.
6. Ensure your organization’s emergency and risk management plans incorporate what steps to take in the event of a cyber attack or breach.
7. Get professional cyber security advice.
8. Stay up-to-date with cybersecurity trends and other changes in the threat landscape.
9. Commit to ongoing education, training and awareness about cyber security in your workplace.
10. Consider whether or not you should take out cyber security insurance.

What are the top 4 cybersecurity strategies?

The top four cybersecurity strategies to implement to ensure a strong foundation for cyber security are are:

1. Zero trust model - this approach assumes that threats may exist both inside and outside the network, so it verifies all users and devices, granting least privilege access.
2. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) - MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide multiple forms of verification, like a password and a fingerprint or a one-time code.
3. Regular patch management - by consistently updating software and systems you can  fix vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers and stay ahead of cybersecurity industry trends.

Employee training and awareness - educating staff about cybersecurity trends,  risks and best practices can prevent many common security breaches.