Today is International Computer Security Day – A day when the focus is on improving cybersecurity and ensuring all computers and electronic devices are appropriately secured against the increasing number of cyber threats. It has only been 30 days since the end of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but International Computer Security Day serves as a reminder of the importance of cybersecurity.
International Computer Security Day was the brainchild of the Association for Computer Machinery (ACM), which created this national day of recognition to raise public awareness of the importance of computer security. The first International Computer Security Day was in 1988 when computers were first starting to become widely used by businesses and governments, although were yet to become popular in homes, and a year before the world wide web came into existence. Fast forward 45 years, and not only are computers used extensively in homes, but devices are also now carried in pockets that are around 1,000 times faster than the Cray-2 supercomputer of the mid-80s!
The purpose of International Computer Security Day is to raise awareness of the need to secure all computers, whether they are PCs, laptops, smartphones, or IoT devices, and to empower users of these devices to secure their digital presence. International Computer Security Day is also an ideal time for businesses to take stock of their cybersecurity defenses and assess areas where improvements can be made, and to take the day to improve the awareness of employees and reemphasize the importance of cybersecurity in the workplace.
International Computer Security Day and Cybersecurity Awareness Month are concerned with raising awareness of cybersecurity and its importance for all individuals whenever they use their computer or access the Internet, not just during these national days and months of recognition, but throughout the year. Businesses can raise awareness at these times, but cybersecurity needs to be an ongoing conversation. Security awareness training programs should be running continuously throughout the year if they are to be truly effective.
Running a once-a-year training session for the workforce on computer security is useful, but these classroom-based training sessions have their limitations. A more effective strategy for security awareness training is to run computer-based training courses continuously, with training modules completed regularly throughout the year. If you choose a training platform that delivers training in short modules lasting no more than 10 minutes, these can easily be completed by employees without disrupting workflows. 2-3 three modules completed by each employee every month will only take up 20-30 minutes of their time, but this is likely to be far more effective than a 2-hour training session once a year at helping you to develop a security culture in the workplace, where employees stop and think about security before taking any action on a computer.
An even more effective way of training is to use a training platform that provides intervention training. The most effective training is provided instantly when a mistake is made, such as when an employee responds to a phishing email, saves sensitive data in an insecure location, or engages in any other risky cyber behavior. With the right training platform in place, when employees engage in these behaviors, the platform instantly sends them the relevant snippet of the company policy, along with a short training module relevant to that behavior or threat. This is important for correcting that behavior, as in many cases, the employee in question will not be aware that they have made a mistake. Don’t provide intervention training and that risky behavior is likely to be repeated.
SafeTitan from TitanHQ is a comprehensive security awareness training platform for businesses that has been proven to improve the security awareness of employees and reduce risky cyber behaviors and susceptibility to all common cyber threats. The platform is the only behavior-driven training platform to provide intervention training to employees in real time in response to risky behaviors and security mistakes. The platform automates the provision of that training to reduce admin time and ensures consistent and repeatable training is delivered.
The SafeTitan platform also includes a phishing simulator, for sending realistic dummy phishing emails to the workforce. These are proven to reinforce training by giving employees experience at recognizing and responding correctly to phishing threats. Through SafeTitan security awareness training, intervention training, and phishing simulations, staff susceptibility to phishing threats, ransomware, malware, BEC attacks, CEO spoofing is reduced by up to 92%.
If you want to make a real difference and greatly improve your human defenses, this International Computer Security Day take advantage of the free trial of SafeTitan and sample the training content and see for yourself how easy the platform is to use. Start using SafeTitan and Next International Computer Security Day your company will have a much stronger security posture and will be significantly more resilient to cyber threats.