Thinking of cybersecurity topics to cover for your employees’ cybersecurity training and awareness? You have just landed in the right place.

Cybersecurity education is also necessary even for non-tech employees. After all, everyone deals and carries your corporate information. Whether they like it or not, they can be held accountable for it.

In fact, a recent report by the Stanford University states that up to 88 percent of data breach incidents are caused by human error. Certainly, employees can either be an asset or a liability when carrying data. 

On the other hand, your employees can hold the strongest asset when educated enough. Conducting regular training and awareness programs in cybersecurity can be far-reaching.

In this article, uncover the top cybersecurity topics that you should be educating employees with. Some may appear so simple and basic but undermining the basics should lead you to more complexities. Inculcating strong cyber hygiene can save you from unnecessary incidents.

Top Cybersecurity Topics that Every Employee Should Know

Email & Phishing Scams

Teach your employees what are the most common phishing scams through emails. Also, the following tips can help.

• Not to quickly open email attachments. Better verify any attachments from the alleged sender first.
• Filter spam always
• Install and update your antivirus & firewall programs
• Not to click on unknown links
• Never send funds requested via email

When in doubt, make it a habit for employees to check in with the IT team first.

Malware 

Malware can be used by criminals to infiltrate your systems. In some cases, even in months without you ever knowing.

It can gain access to your systems in different means. 

For example:

• Removable media
• Drive-by downloads
• Phishing emails
• Unknown links or attachments

Password Security

For individual users, it becomes a norm to use a single password for all devices and accounts. However, for corporate uses, this is a big no. 

So make it a policy to change passwords regularly. Also, instruct to use system-generated passwords to assure strength. Perhaps you can use password managers for easy and safe storage.

Perhaps in your data security policy, be as specific as possible in your use and management of passwords.

Use of Removable Media

Removable media may come in CDs, USBs, flash drives, and so on. File transmission has never been easier with these means.

However, it can also serve as your loopholes with attacks. Make sure to implement policies.

For example:

• Disable autorun on all computers
• Verify removable media from the IT security first for scanning

Using the Web Safely

Everyone surely accesses the internet, especially the tech people. This is inevitable, but the attacks can be lurking just anywhere. Not to mention even from mobile use. 

So during your training, make sure to include tips. For instance, on how to identify suspicious websites from safe ones. Also, warn against any downloads of any software through the web. The list goes on, but the key is to educate them enough.

Social Media & Networking Safety

Social media is by far one of the most effective tools for brand awareness and marketing. However, as connective as it is, cybercriminals are also making use of it for launching their attacks.

So during the training, make sure to inform your employees about the limits of their use of social media. Also, let them know of how cybercriminals can make face through the web in stealing and pushing attacks.