By Russ Levanway, CEO
At the beginning of this year, I predicted trends for 2017 and discussed my single biggest concern: security. I talked about the changing security landscape and how crypto-ransomware is a real force to reckon with. Sadly, my predictions turned out to be true.
2017 has been a year of security disasters. Many companies ranging in size from Experian on down have experienced major data loss and hundreds of millions of accounts have been compromised. As an IT company, we do everything we can to protect our clients from these types of disasters. This includes our preferred front line of defense – security training for our clients’ employees.
In the Know
Earlier this year we rolled out security training software KnowB4. Now it is the key training platform for all of our clients. It works like this: KnowB4 randomly sends mock emails that look remarkably like the kinds of emails that hackers send to employees in an attempt to infiltrate a network. Staff members receive the mock malicious email, and if they click links within it, the link sends users to a video on how to spot and avoid attack emails. No harm, no foul, just learning in real-time.
Since we rolled out KnowB4, we have seen people’s behavior change with regard to how they handle email: those who fell for the mock email clicked the link the first time, but only a few clicked a second time and nearly zero the third time. In a safe sandbox where people can make a mistake without damaging anything, everyone quickly learns to be much more suspicious while going through their inboxes. Of course, it’s not the only security measure you can or should take, but it helps to employ your staff as a first line of defense.
Find Your Happy Place
We are happy to report that the clients who’ve really adopted the training are in a much safer place. And since the security landscape isn’t going to improve anytime soon–likely it will become worse–I’d encourage everyone to think deeply about your organization’s level of adoption with training software. Consider ways to integrate it more into what you do, and, by all means, reach out to us with any questions you may have. Together, we can help ensure that 2018 is a safer, more secure year for your business.
