Cybersecurity 1: Fundamentals for Employees

Cyberattacks are increasing at an alarming rate. Radware reported that there were 2.3 billion data breaches in 2018 – almost three times more than the year before – which cost companies about $600 billion. Most companies have installed firewalls and other cyber defenses to stop cyberattacks, but they are not foolproof. In fact, one of the key risk factors in cyberattacks is human error. A recent Intel Security survey found that 97 per cent of people could not identify all the phishing emails in a sample of 10 emails.
The need for training of non-IT staff is critically important. This four-week will ensure that staff gain an appreciation of company-wide measures to protect against cyberattacks and their own role in the success of these defense measures. Most importantly, it will help staff recognize phishing attacks, and when a cyberattack has been successful, understand what steps to take to mitigate the effect. The importance of practicing safe social media behavior to prevent cyber criminals from mining sensitive personal and company data will also be discussed. In the capstone activity each participant will create a personal cybersecurity plan.