We all have started using smartphones more than ever after the coronavirus. As much as we use the internet, we become more prone to cyber-attacks.
Cyber attacks continuously try to hack the systems of big companies, and many times, they get successful in their attempts.
Now think about your cybersecurity. If any cyber attacker wants to hack your mobile or any other device connected to the internet, will that be difficult for them?
No, Right! Many of you have a misconception that cybersecurity is only essential to information technology professionals; it will only benefit them. But this is the opposite of reality. Everyone needs cybersecurity awareness.
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Let me tell you what cybersecurity awareness is
Cybersecurity is protecting your data from cyber attackers. Cybersecurity awareness tells people why cybersecurity is essential and how they can protect themselves from cyberattackers and other cybersecurity-related things.
Let’s understand the importance of cybersecurity awareness with an example.
If you have a smartphone, then certainly you have an email account. Your email has a lot of information about you, like bank account details, credit cards, photos and many other personal things that you might not want to share with anyone.
They can get access to whatever you have saved in your email and the apps you use via email. Suppose someone hacks your email and steals all your details.
How will you react to this? Now, think you don’t even know someone has your personal information. Indeed, you will feel your data is safe, but in reality, it’s not. The hacker can send viruses to other computers and friends.
And if they lose something by this, obviously they will blame you for whatever happened to them. To avoid all these things, you should have cybersecurity awareness.
Cybersecurity awareness is essential to protect you from all these kinds of cyberattacks. It will help you to protect data breaches from any cyber-attack.
5 Points Why Cybersecurity Awareness is Important
Prevent Breaches and attacks
It helps in preventing breaches and attacks on your system. Data breaches can cost money, fame and many more things. If you have awareness, you can prevent those attacks.
Let me tell you an instance to understand better the concept of preventing breaches and attacks.
Suppose you are chatting with someone on Instagram. To keep your chats safe, you have turned on the vanish mode. But let me tell you one thing, vanish mode doesn’t work properly.
Someone broke into your system and read all those chats. Will that hurt you and break you mentally? It might be.
Now imagine this thing on a big scale. There is a vast company, and someone attacked their employees to get access to the company’s data. How much can this cost? Can you even imagine? No, right.!
But during the cybersecurity awareness program, the individuals are told how to identify and prevent phishing attacks. They are told to avoid visiting any malicious website.
This is why cybersecurity awareness is essential. The individual can prevent those attacks at a small level, which is beneficial for the company and the individual.
This can help individuals to prevent breaches in their personal life too. They can also protect their private life data.
Increase technological defense
Technological defense is essential thing in preventing breaches. But you have to input this. You have to turn on firewalls, and a system update should be possible.
You can’t use technological defenses to their full potential if you are not aware of cybersecurity awareness.
Nowadays, cyberattackers not only attack companies through technologies, but they also target people as people are the easy way to get into protected networks.
Technology defense is the ability to prevent cyber attacks from contaminating any system.
Customers confidence
Nowadays, most people are aware of cyberattacks. If the employees of a company are aware of this, then customers will trust the company more. They will feel safe working with the company.
Many businesses take measures to improve their company’s cybersecurity so that they can work smoothly and cybersecurity awareness training also comes under those measures. It helps the customers to stay loyal to the business.
More than 50% of customers avoid working with companies that have already faced cyberattacks in the past.
Customers are more worried about their cybersecurity nowadays. If your customers know that your employees are aware of cybersecurity, they will find your company more reliable than others.
Let’s look over an example here.
There is a very famous company named X. This company was working very well, but cyberattackers succeeded in stealing their data one day.
They demanded ransomware, and when the company refused to pay them, the attackers leaked all your information.
Imagine the company had your details too, and those details got leaked. Can you react normally? Do you want to work with the company? Do you want to work with any of the companies that faced cyberattacks in the past? Your answer might be no.
But you will be interested in working with a company that never faced cyberattacks in the past. Or if they have faced, but now their employees are aware of cybersecurity, you will consider working with that company.
Companies can gain customers’ trust if their employees are aware of cybersecurity.
Improve employee wellbeing
It is a trial and tested axiom that happy people are more productive and can give you more benefits than sad people. Security awareness not only helps them to work safely at the office but will also help them be tension-free in their personal lives.
For many people, this benefit is not observed. It helps all customers, employees, and employers.
Let’s take an example of this.
You are aware of cyber threats. But you don’t know how you can protect yourself from those attacks. Anyone can steal your photos and other data.
And as you are an employee of a company, the chances are high that hackers can attack you(cyber attack) to reach the company’s data.
How tense will you be? Certainly, you can’t even get proper sleep because of this tension.
Now think you are aware of cybersecurity. If you are well aware, then can you protect your data? Yes, of course, you can. It will help you to live a tension-free personal and professional life. You can work very well professionally.
This is how cybersecurity helps a person at both personal and professional levels.
Social Responsibility
As a business, you are socially responsible. It is said that the more networks become infected by viruses, the more other networks become vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
As the security system of a company is more or less similar to others, the weakness of one can lead to a threat to others also.
The absence of cybersecurity awareness in any organization leads other organizations to become more prone.
Let’s have a look at an instance. Suppose your neighbour is going somewhere and they give the key to their apartment to you. After some time you have to go for an urgent meeting or anywhere.
So you just locked your house, and the keys of your neighbour are inside your home. And You forget to lock the door.
If someone enters your house and steals all your valuable items, they can also enter the neighbour’s house because the key is inside your home, showing the importance of having a home in a safe area such as apartments for rent in San Diego, CA.
It was your responsibility to take care of their house, but their house became prone to theft because of your carelessness.
This is how you are socially responsible. Your employees should be aware.
On a personal level, if your data is safe from phishing attacks, then no one will be able to send viruses to your contacts through your device.
This is why cybersecurity awareness is important at both individual and business levels.
This is how cybersecurity awareness training is essential. In this, individuals are taught to make strategies to prevent cyber attacks and mitigate the risk.
These training programs are designed to help the individuals tell them the role they play in combating breaches. In this, the people are taught about the following things:
- How to recognize cyber attacks
- Steps they can take to prevent cyber threats.
That is why you should take cybersecurity awareness training at your level. And if you are a company, you should give this training to your employees as it is necessary to keep your data safe and work smoothly.
