What Is Cybersecurity Awareness?

Cyberattacks on companies are becoming more and more common. A solid IT security strategy is therefore essential to protect your business. And for that strategy to hold up, it needs two lines of defense: technical IT security systems on one side, and the human defense system, cybersecurity awareness, on the other.

How cybercrime and remote work are connected

Vishing calls, phishing emails, spyware and malware: the list of attack methods hackers use against companies keeps growing. Since the pandemic accelerated the shift to remote and hybrid work, the number of cyberattacks has risen sharply. One reason companies are targeted more and more often: far more people now work from home, and attackers know it. They exploit two factors. A company's technical IT safeguards are much easier to bypass in a home office than in an office building, and employees are much easier to manipulate or deceive when they are not in the office. That gap is what the human defense system, cybersecurity awareness, is meant to close.

Why the human defense system protects your company from cybercrime

In the various forms of phishing, cybercriminals use psychological tricks to manipulate their victims into taking a specific action. Because technical IT security systems are becoming ever harder to crack, hackers try to get around the technology altogether and focus on the "human vulnerability" instead.

The goal might be a money transfer, data entered on a fake landing page, or a click on a link in an email.

Cybersecurity awareness as the human line of defense

Cybersecurity awareness simply means that your employees are alert: alert to the psychological tricks of online fraudsters, and alert to threats from the internet in general. When your employees' awareness of cybersecurity is high, they can recognize an attack attempt in time and prevent potential cyberattacks. In concrete terms: your employees are able to identify a phishing email. They notice when a criminal on the phone, in a so-called vishing attack, tries to talk them into a specific action. And they know what to do when an unknown USB stick turns up in the office.

How your employees develop stronger security awareness

The most efficient way to strengthen your employees' awareness of IT security for the long term is a combination of simulated phishing attacks and matching awareness trainings.

When your employees regularly receive simulated phishing emails and have to identify them as a threat, their awareness of phishing attacks is trained effectively. With these simulations, it is of course essential that employees are told about the simulated attack afterwards. Building cybersecurity awareness also means completing awareness trainings on a regular basis. These e-learning courses explain the most important attack methods, the telltale signs of a phishing email and the typical psychological tricks behind cyberattacks.

Summary

Cybercriminals use psychological tricks to get around a company's technical IT defenses, which makes your employees' awareness all the more important. Cybersecurity awareness describes the ability to recognize threats from the internet. To close potential security gaps before they are exploited, strengthen this awareness continuously. That works best with simulated phishing emails and effective e-learning awareness trainings.

To see what this looks like in practice, learn how our phishing simulation trains your team with realistic attack scenarios, or book a demo to see the Protectly platform in action.