Cybersecurity Awareness Training that Sticks

Cybersecurity is a topic that can seem overwhelming to many employees. It's not just one thing—it's many things, and it's constantly evolving. The good news is there are ways to make learning about cybersecurity more engaging and interactive to help your employees better understand the threats they'll face as part of their jobs every day.

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Training is Essential

Cybersecurity is a critical part of the modern workplace. Employees need to know how to protect themselves and their company from cyber threats, which can lead to substantial financial losses. Cybersecurity training can help employees understand the risks and how to mitigate them. It's also a good way for companies to reduce liability in case of a breach or data loss.  

For example, suppose you're an employer who hires independent contractors that are not part of your staff but use your systems or networks on behalf of your business. In that case, you may be liable if they cause damage or loss because they weren't adequately trained in cybersecurity best practices (password management).

Stay Compliant and Find Knowledge Gaps with Awareness Training

Regulations are a big deal, and they're only getting bigger. Data protection laws are becoming stricter and more comprehensive as the world becomes increasingly connected. If you don't have your compliance ducks in a row, your organization can be fined or even shut down for not meeting government requirements.  

Managed security awareness programs help keep you up to date on new regulations so that you don't run afoul of them when they come into effect. They also guide how best to comply with these rules.

Arctic Wolf's Managed Security Awareness measures program effectiveness across individuals, teams, and the entire organization. Quantifiable results identify areas for improvement. 

The security awareness program can also add comprehensive compliance training like PCI and HIPAA to make Arctic Wolf your one-stop frictionless shop for training.

Three Reasons for Engaging Training

You've got a big problem on your hands if your employees are not engaged and motivated by the training they receive. If they're not seeing the relevance of it, or if they aren't able to apply what they learned in real-life situations, then what's the point?

Here are three reasons why cybersecurity awareness training needs to be engaging and interactive:

  1. It makes the training more fun, and therefore more memorable. 
  2. It helps people learn in a way relevant to them and their jobs. 
  3. It's easier for employees to remember what they've learned when actively engaged in the learning process.

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How to Choose Cybersecurity Awareness Training that Sticks

There are so many cybersecurity awareness training courses that employees actively dread and ignore. Or worse, some training programs include phishing emails with fake gift cards that cause outrage. Here are some features to look for in awareness training to engage your workforce:

  • Games and gamification. Games are a great way to get people interested in learning new things! The same principle applies to cybersecurity training--if you want your employees to learn something, make it fun! Arctic Wolf uses badges, points, and leaderboards to tap into your workforce's competitive side and reinforce positive participation.
  • Visuals and animations. Visuals help your audience understand concepts more quickly than text alone can convey them, and video clips from real-life examples will help make scenarios more relevant. Arctic Wolf's security awareness training consists of microlearning with brief, purpose-driven content designed for optimal retention. Studies show people forget 80% of what they learn within one month unless reminded multiple times. Arctic Wolf regularly engages employees with short —three minutes or less — awareness lessons based on current threats targeting organizations.

Arctic Wolf's Managed Security Awareness training is delivered as a service, rather than a tool like some competitors. This takes the burden off teams to send reminders about training and modules, leaving leaders free to focus on business-critical tasks. 

Arctic Wolf has used science to create a low barrier-to-entry security awareness training product that works. The small, bite-sized training keeps employees engaged, reduces screen fatigue, and increases retention.

Benefits of Gamification

90% of employees say gamification makes them more productive at work. Gamification in training can be done through various methods, such as using badges or giving out prizes for completing specific challenges. 

The same principle applies to cybersecurity awareness training: if you want your employees to understand cybersecurity's importance, give them something tangible that will motivate them!

The bottom line? Companies that use gamification are seven times more profitable than those that don't—whether with employees or consumers. 

Arctic Wolf's Managed Security Awareness training uses microlearning and gamification to keep employees engaged and boost learning retention. They constantly update their learning to stay on top of the latest attack vectors to keep your employees educated before the hacker can reach them.

If you would like to schedule a demo to see how Arctic Wolf's Managed Security Awareness training can be the training your employees won't dread, contact us here today.

 

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