Network & Device Security: End User Awareness Training

IT security starts with your users

So what do you think is your greatest security vulnerability?

Chances are it isn’t your firewall, your anti-virus, your anti-spam or any of the other security measures you’ve put in place. Chances are, your greatest security vulnerability is your users. (In fact, several studies have shown that end users are the biggest cause of IT security issues.)

IT security specialists have given it a name: Social Engineering. For the bad guys, hacking your systems is hard. But getting your people to do the dirty work for them can be remarkably easy.

So what's a business leader to do?

Fire Safety Education for Network Security

We got our idea for network and PC security training from an unusual source. Fire prevention.

As fire prevention got better and better in America in the mid- 20th century, fire departments across the country started spending time on something new: fire safety education. We all learned not just how to act in the case of a fire, but also how our own behavior can increase or decrease fire risk.

With that philosophy in mind, we launched in 2013 a unique Security Awareness Training program. Think of it as fire safety education for your network.

It starts with a carefully designed email “phishing” attack (not actual malware) just to see who clicks on it. Every end user is then provided a 30-minute online training course. We follow-up with additional social engineering attempts including more “phishing” emails to determine how well the training worked. Based upon that analysis, we provide follow-on training as needed.