Cyber Risk Management: Train your Employees!!

written by Rebecca Gomez

Studies have shown that most breaches affecting organizations are not committed by nefarious unknown forces, but from their current or former employees. Experts in the cyber intelligence community found that 60 percent of all breaches affecting organizations have been carried out by individuals within their organization, who intentionally or unintentionally, take sensitive information when they depart. From the 60 percent of breaches committed from within the organization, 44.5 percent were done maliciously by employees and 15.5 percent were done inadvertently— accidentally opening malware, sending sensitive information to incorrect e-mail addresses, or losing a company laptop. It is imperative that your organization be proactive to prevent breaches.

Employees have more access to information than in previous decades. The internet has transformed the internet boundaries allowing employees to bring company data outside of the organization. It is important that any one individual employed at your organizations, whether small or large, should not have full-unrestricted access to all sensitive company information.

Breaches can be prevented by creating, implementing, and educating employees on policies and procedures. Most employees may not be aware they are violating company policy if they are downloading information to take home. That is why it is important to train your employees on proper usage and protection of their workplace computer system and digital information. You should also set up procedures that block employees from being able to copy sensitive information.

Being proactive in protecting your organization is key. A cyber policy can further help protect your organization against the costly expenses associated with a data breach. Let us know if you have any questions regarding Cyber risk management or Cyber Liability Insurance. We are here to help.