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As cyber threats evolve, phishing remains a persistent and increasingly potent threat to organizations and individuals. Therefore, your organization’s urgent need to cultivate an informed and vigilant workforce cannot be overstated.

Do you know malicious actors targeting global organizations and individuals dispatch 3.4 billion fraudulent emails daily? With phishing attacks looking more menacing than ever, forward-thinking enterprises are rightly investing in phishing employee training.

There’s no denying that your organization is vulnerable to sophisticated phishing scams. Whether one of your employees unintentionally furnishes login details to a phishing link or downloads a malware attachment, the result can be disastrous.

Even a single employee falling victim to a phishing scam can jeopardize your organization. Nurturing cyber resilience through comprehensive phishing awareness training is the need of the hour to draw the line of defense.

 

 

Phishing Scam Statistics: Check Out the Damage in Numbers

Before exploring the scope of phishing training for your employees, it will help to look at these statistics.

  • The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) receives over 651,800 phishing-related complaints yearly.
  • Affected organizations incur losses as high as $17,700 a minute, with the adjusted losses amounting to $2.4 billion.
  • A recent report reveals that almost 76% of US, UK, France, Australia, and Canada employees were targeted by cyberattacks.
  • Phishing awareness training can mitigate the risk of falling prey to a cyberattack in 80% of organizations.
  • Human errors remain at the root of 88% of instances of data breaches, phishing being the most commonly used social engineering attack.

These numbers explain why phishing training for employees is essential.

 

Need of awareness

Image sourced from thebci.org

 

What Is Phishing Awareness Training for Employees?

Phishing awareness training in your organization is an ongoing program crafted to strengthen the cyber-resilience of your employees. The program helps employees understand how threat actors design and execute phishing attacks.

These programs educate employees to identify the signs of an attack and detect potential emails or messages containing phishing links. Most importantly, phishing training empowers employees to take actionable measures when they notice a potential threat. In this way, the awareness program goes a long way in redefining the cybersecurity stance of your organization.

Today, many organizations proactively invest in phishing awareness programs to prevent their employees from inadvertently assisting malicious actors to compromise the organization’s information assets. Trained employees are less likely to share sensitive information with malicious players or download malicious attachments.

 

What Are the Advantages of Phishing Awareness Training?

Fostering a culture of phishing awareness within your organization will effectively transform your staff into the first line of defense against phishing attempts. Implementing robust phishing protection measures alongside this awareness is crucial to bolster your security posture. Below are the prime benefits of phishing awareness training:

  • Employees become better poised to spot phishing emails, thus keeping organizational data safe.
  • Each training program serves as a refresher for your organization’s cybersecurity policies.
  • The program fosters employee awareness in terms of data security and response to instances of data breaches.
  • Phishing awareness training ensures that your employees adhere to the security policies established by CCPA, HIPAA, GDPR, and GLBA.

 

 

Different Types of Phishing Awareness Training in Organizations

Organizations use different channels, techniques, and formats to cultivate phishing awareness in their employees. The most common are:

 

1. Computer-Based Training (CBT)

Computer-based phishing awareness training has evolved from traditional PowerPoint presentations to engaging e-learning courses. This phishing training type requires employees to complete short modules to enhance their knowledge.

The CBT approach involves interactive content and videos to illustrate risks using real-world examples. Thus, this method is effective in testing your employees’ understanding. After completing the program, they also take quizzes in the comfort of their time slots.

 

2. Simulated Phishing Exercises

Phishing simulation exercises offer a more practical approach to enhancing your employees’ cybersecurity awareness. These simulations can effectively test and improve their ability to recognize and respond to phishing attempts. These exercises involve the simulation of real-world phishing cases. It helps in assessing the employees’ vulnerability to attacks.

During this phishing awareness training program, you must track your employees’ responses to realistic phishing emails. This approach establishes a baseline for training and identifies areas that need improvement. Thus, you get a dynamic metric to track their progress and identify employees who need further training.

 

3. Classroom-based Training

Classroom-based training is a traditional approach involving sessions led by instructors. Although this is a practical approach, organizations face logistical and financial constraints.

During these phishing awareness programs, specialized instructors educate a group with content based on PowerPoint. Thus, the curriculum remains uniform, regardless of individuals’ knowledge levels or roles.

 

 

Although this is a comprehensive approach, it needs proper scheduling. Such factors eventually make it time-consuming and less targeted than the other two approaches.

 

Final Words

Now that you know the standard phishing awareness training methods for employees, you can draw an efficient line of defense to thwart malicious attempts.

Among various techniques, simulated phishing exercises are considered the most effective measure to counter attacks. With continuous phishing training for employees, organizations can fortify their IT departments and secure crucial information resources.