b'(continued from page 7) Five reasons employee awareness of 3. Do you express genuine concern for the counseledcybersecurity is crucial individuals well-being and for any pressures they are experiencing? 4. Do you communicate the solutions-oriented nature of the counseling session? 5. Do you encourage counseled workers to develop their own corrective actions rather than impose a solution from above? 6. Do you set a time frame for improvement and establish follow-up meetings? Employees have access to critical data, and their 7. Do you provide coaching targeted to theactions and awareness are key to your companys employees needs when appropriate?cybersecurity defense, according to Total IT. 8. Is outside counseling arranged when appropriate?Verizons 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report 9. Do you suggest alternative ways the toxicshows 74% of data breaches were caused by human employee can engage with co-workers or the public?error. 10. Do you create a positive workplace that regularlyAn employees lack of cybersecurity awareness can recognizes and rewards employee achievement?result in significant financial and reputational damage to your company. Total IT offers the following five Whats your score? reasons you should prioritize employees cybersecurity Over 80: You are creating a dynamic workplaceawareness. environment that reduces toxic behavior. Protection against phishing attacks and insider threats. Between 60 and 80: Time to fine tune yourPhishing scams involve attackers tricking employees engagement with negative workers. into sharing sensitive information, such as login Below 60: Its a good idea to re-gear by institutingcredentials. Educate your employees regarding how to ideas from the accompanying story.identify and report phishing attempts.Safeguarding sensitive data. When you educate employees regarding the proper handling of sensitive data, such as customer information, you can prevent accidental exposure and protect your company from regulatory fines and legal repercussions. Ensuring regulatory compliance. Regulatory bodies require organizations to implement proper security measures to protect sensitive data. It is crucial your employees are aware of these measures. Encouraging a culture of security. When you promote cybersecurity awareness among employees, you create a culture of security within your company and give employees a sense of responsibility and accountability. Reducing security incidents and downtime. A successful cyberattack can cause significant downtime for your business, resulting in financial losses and decreased productivity. Cybersecurity awareness can help thwart these attacks. You can implement cybersecurity awareness at your company by conducting regular training sessions with employees; providing simulated phishing attacks to help them learn how to identify and respond to potential threats; creating a security policy that outlines expectations for employee behavior; encouraging reporting of suspicious activity; and leading by example by ensuring upper management and leadership teams also are educated regarding cybersecurity protocols.8'