Lack of cyber security training at some companies is putting your data at risk
Posted July 10, 2019 7:18 am.
Last Updated July 10, 2019 9:22 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – From hotels to schools and even hospitals, your personal information is in the hands of dozens of industries that are under prepared for the threats of modern cyber security.
A new report titled Beyond the Phish from cyber security firm Proofpoint Inc. shows many employees are lacking the knowledge to recognize malware and phishing scams.
Workers in education performed the worst, followed by transportation, energy, healthcare and manufacturing.
Tallying more than 130 million responses to a quiz on security, the company found 22 per cent of all answers were incorrect, up from the previous year when 19 per cent of the answers were incorrect.
The Proofpoint test looked at how much people understand about phishing scams, ransomware, the data life cycle, using social media, working safely outside the office.
Last year the hotel and hospitality industry earned “the dubious honour” of scoring the worst on the test – with 24 per cent of its answers logged as incorrect. This year that industry improved slightly and logged a 19 per cent error rate.
Proofpoint researchers say regular training for employees is the best way to keep data safe as under educated staff are the weakest link in the security chain.
“We have long advocated for ongoing security awareness training. This research-proven approach can keep users more engaged and help them retain more of what they’ve learned,” says the report.
That training doesn’t stop at management. Proofpoint highlights the need for executives to brush up on their ability to spot risks and manage their mobile devices – as they often have access to some of a company’s most sensitive data.
