Security awareness needed to protect Yorkshire businesses from relentless cybercrime assault: Dan Hindley

Cybercriminals are using malicious tactics to deceive victims, with social engineering attacks such as phishing and ransomware gaining prominence.

Other scams include smishing through text messages, vishing over the phone, or a combination of these methods are being used to trick employees into clicking on malicious links.

Given this landscape, it's crucial to ask whether your business is taking the necessary steps to educate the workforce and general users on identifying phishing emails and malicious attacks when they encounter them.

It's important to acknowledge that there is no single solution in cybersecurity that can completely ward off all these threats.

The primary strategy should revolve around enhancing user awareness; thereby, adding an extra layer – a human layer - of security to your business.

To address this, organisations should conduct regular company-wide security awareness training.

This training aims to fortify the human defence layer within the organisation, as some significant recent breaches have originated from human error.

To effectively tackle this issue in both the short and long term, it's imperative to cultivate a strong security culture within the organisation.

Security awareness cannot be solved by investing solely in security technology.

To achieve the best results, decision-makers must recognise that a positive security culture is, in fact, an enabler for business operations.

Without it, vulnerabilities persist.

It should not be treated as a mere "nice-to-have" feature or an afterthought to check a compliance box.

Even dedicating a small amount of time each week to security awareness training can yield significant benefits.

Equipping the workforce with knowledge from various resources and tools regarding security policies, best practices, and the telltale signs of ransomware and other threats will go a long way in enhancing overall cybersecurity.

In the broader context, cybersecurity must be a top priority spanning every aspect of your business, involving every department and each employee.

Successfully achieving this objective cultivates heightened awareness among users, nurturing a mindset that places a premium on appropriate responses to potential threats.

This proactive approach will position your company favourably for the future.

As a Yorkshireman, I’m proud to be helping protect businesses across this region and given the digital world we live in, I hope many will follow by improving their security awareness.

Dan Hindley is Senior Director at KnowBe4