Answering MSPs' Top 5 Client Questions — Security Awareness Training Edition

Delivering top-tier IT services requires collecting data from your clients, and it's only natural they'd want to know how you're protecting that valuable information. Part of your answer may involve proactive security awareness training — depending on your clients, your contract might even mandate this ongoing education as part of your information security program. Here are the top five questions your clients might have about security awareness.

Why Security Awareness Training Matters

The past decade has seen a dramatic upheaval in information security. The volume of malware attacks worldwide jumped from the millions to the tens of billions. Small, disjointed threat actors banded together to create ransomware and Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) firms which are highly organized and highly profitable, driving a multi-trillion-dollar global cybercrime industry. Businesses can—and do—spend hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on infrastructure and services to thwart cyberattacks. If not paired with an effective cybersecurity awareness training program, that spending may amount to nothing more than security theater. Jump To: Risks of Avoiding Security Awareness Benefits of Cybersecurity Awareness Building a Proactive Defense Why Training Matters to Clients

Requirements for Employee Security Awareness Programs

How can managed service providers (MSPs) enhance security awareness programs and motivate employees to complete their training? A quality security awareness program provides a hands-on, industry-specific way for companies to gauge user habits and vulnerabilities. Modeling open communication and good security awareness behaviors can encourage employees to be more vigilant and protect sensitive data. Simultaneously, providing clear examples and a variety of phishing attempts that are not always easy to detect can mitigate human vulnerability. While some security awareness programs start without a hitch, others may cause unintentional confusion and require additional support. We've compiled the critical elements an MSP needs to communicate to their client's employees before launching a security awareness program.

3 Essential Parts of a Security Awareness Program

The DoD Was Tricked into Paying $23.5M

Even the most elaborate social engineering schemes can be broken down into simply understood parts. Most social engineering is the act of pretending to be someone else, whether that means pretending to be an individual or impersonating a company.

How to Measure the Impact of Phishing Training

You can implement all the cybersecurity measures you want, but how do you know they work? Phishing training is an excellent tool to teach your employees to recognize, avoid and report phishing attempts, protecting your team from cybersecurity threats. While you can require your team to take a security awareness course, you must be confident they have absorbed all the takeaways. You can use phishing training metrics to track your organization's security progress and see the results of your efforts.