Shore Up Security Training By Shortening it

Human error is a threat actor’s best friend, but comprehensive security training can go a long way to reducing the likelihood of a data breach.

Human-related error continues to be the primary cause of successful cloud breaches, and if you think you’re too small to be a target, think again. Small businesses are more likely to experience a data breach incident.


But there are things you can do improve your security posture, and training your employees should be at the top of the list.


Keep training short and focused: The challenge with security training is it’s another task on an employee’s to do list – the trick is to make it short and relevant – rather doing occasional, long sessions, consider doing more frequent, focused security awareness training. Everyone in your company is busy, including your IT staff.
Simulate common threat scenarios: A “micro learning” approach should include simulations of common social engineering attacks such as phishing, which commonly come in form of slick looking emails, but are increasingly phony voice mails created by artificial intelligence (AI) voice generators. These short sprints of security training will help employees learn to recognize and respond to phishing attempts.
Remind your remote workers: Remote work continues to be the norm, which is why it’s critical employees know to secure their devices and information while working from home or on the road – remote workers are a preferred target of hackers and a significant attack surface along with other network endpoints. Security training for remote workers keeps them from becoming complacent and goes hand in hand with mandatory VPNs for accessing sensitive data from beyond the company firewall.
Simplify password management: Passwords are important no matter where employees are working but consider streamlining their management – cumbersome password policies will prompt employees to take shortcuts by reusing the same simple passwords and keeping them handy on a post-it note pasted to their workstation. Having a frequent yet short refresher on password creation will go a long way to safeguarding employee credentials, as will reminding employees to lock their screens when they step away from their workstation.


Security training doesn’t have to be an overwhelming task – breaking it down into smaller sessions can make it more manageable and more effective.

 

There are many ways artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning already impact cybersecurity. You can expect that trend to continue in 2024 – both as tools for data protection as well as a threat.

Balancing Cybersecurity Innovation Amid Evolving Threat Landscapes

Even as you implement AI and machine learning into your cybersecurity strategy through the adoption of tools like Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Managed Detection and Response (MDR), so are threat actors. They will continue to update and evolve their own methodologies and tools to compromise their targets by applying AI and machine learning to how they use ransomware, malware and deepfakes.

With small and medium-sized businesses just much at risk as their large enterprise counterparts, SMBs must take advantage of AI and machine learning as mush possible. AI-directed attacks are expected to rise in 2024 in the form of deepfake technologies that make phishing and impersonation more effective, as well as evolving ransomware and malware.

Deepfake social engineering techniques

Deepfake technologies that leverage AI are especially worrisome, as they can create fake content that spurs employees and organizations to work against their best interests. Hackers can use deepfakes to create massive changes with serious financial consequences, including altering stock prices.

Deepfake social engineering techniques will only improve with the use of AI, increasing the likelihood of data breaches through unauthorized access to systems and more authentic looking phishing messages that are more personalized, and hence, more effective.

Countering Cyber Threats and Harnessing Innovation in 2024

If hackers are keen on leveraging AI and machine learning to defeat your cybersecurity, you must be ready to combat them in equal measure – just as AI and machine learning will create new challenges in 2024, they can also help you bolster your cybersecurity. While regulations are being developed to foster ethical use of AI, threat actors are not likely to follow them.

AI will also affect your cyber insurance as your providers will use it to assess your resilience against cyberattacks and adjust your premium payments accordingly. AI presents an opportunity for you to improve your cybersecurity to keep those insurance costs under control.

Conclusion

There’s a lot of doom being predicted around the growing use of AI and machine learning. And while it does pose a risk to your organization and its sensitive data, you can use it to bolster your cybersecurity even as threat actors leverage AI to up the ante. A managed service provider with a focus on security can help you use AI and machine learning to protect your organization as we head into 2024.

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