How to Train Your Employees to Spot IT Scams
The modern workplace is heavily reliant on digital communications and processes, making it a prime target for cybercriminals and bad actors. IT scams like phishing, malware and social engineering are becoming increasingly sophisticated and hard to spot, posing a risk to businesses of all sizes. Fortunately, vigilance and employee training is an effective defense against these threats. Educating staff on how to spot IT scams can reduce the likelihood of falling victim and help foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness.
In this article, QualityIP will outline a comprehensive approach to training your employees to not only identify IT scams, but how to avoid them. We’ll go over key areas like the different types of IT scams and developing good cybersecurity habits. You can use this guide to train your employees yourself, or you can outsource your IT security awareness training to the experts at QualityIP.
1. Educate Employees on Common IT Scams
The first thing you need to do to train your team is to educate them about the different types of attacks and IT scams they may encounter so they can easily identify them. The most common IT scams include:
- Phishing: This is a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information by disguising as a trustworthy entity. Phishing scams are typically sent via email, but similar text-based phishing scams are not uncommon.
- Spear Phishing: This is a more targeted version of phishing where attackers customize their approach using personal information about the recipient. While a traditional phishing attempt usually involves a generic email or message sent to hundreds of people at a time, spear phishing is more individualized and targeted.
- Ransomware: You know what a ransom is. Ransomware is similar – it’s malware that locks up the victim’s computer or holds critical files hostage until a ransom is paid.
- Social Engineering: Also known as social media phishing, this is the manipulation of individuals into divulging confidential information that can compromise security. The hackers may create a fake social media account that looks like a loved one or trusted organization, but it’s not.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC): In this type of attack, a high-ranking executive is impersonated, sending messages to employees and instructing them to transfer funds or share confidential information.
- Malware and Spyware: This is malicious software that can install itself on a computer, usually by clicking an unsafe link. Once installed, the software can track activity or steal information without the user’s consent.
2. Design and Conduct Regular Phishing Simulations
Phishing remains one of the most common and effective forms of IT scams and it’s critical to teach employees to identify and react to these scams the right way to prevent a data breach. To help employees develop the necessary instincts to recognize phishing attempts, some companies opt to conduct phishing simulations on a regular basis. These simulations are fake, but use realistic phishing emails sent by the company’s IT or security team to test employees’ responses. To make them more effective, employees are not notified in advance about the simulation.
After conducting a simulation, it’s essential to provide feedback to the employee. If the employee clicks on a suspicious link or otherwise fails the simulation, there’s an opportunity for learning and additional education. If multiple employees fail the simulation, you know you need to incorporate more robust training. After the simulation, explain the red flags so they can note any that they may have missed (e.g., suspicious links, unusual email addresses, poor grammar) to help improve their skills.
Regular phishing simulations not only reinforce other types of employee training, but also give the company valuable insight into where weaknesses are and what types of additional training may be valuable.
3. Promote a Zero Trust Culture for Digital Communications
A zero-trust culture means teaching employees to never trust digital communications or interactions. They should always be cautious, even when the communications come from seemingly legitimate sources. Employees should be trained on how to:
- Verify suspicious requests: Train employees on what to do if they receive a suspicious request, like a message asking for sensitive information or an urgent request to transfer funds. Teach employees to confirm these types of requests through a different communication method, such as a phone call or in-person conversation.
- Examine the details: Learning to examine details and spot signs of a phishing scam is a critical skill that every team member should have. Employees should be encouraged to perform basic steps, like looking at email addresses, domain names, and URLs carefully. For example, subtle changes to a website’s URL like “google.support.com” instead of “support.google.com” can indicate a scam.
- Avoid using personal devices: Avoid allowing employees to use personal devices for official work duties, like accessing company accounts. Personal devices may lack up-to-date security patches or antivirus software and aren’t under the jurisdiction of your IT security team.
Encourage employees to always be vigilant and cautious when accessing the web or digital communications. A culture of zero trust ensures that employees understand the importance of verifying unusual requests and avoiding any security breaches.
4. Encourage Good Cyber Hygiene
Cyber hygiene refers to the everyday practices employees should adopt to maintain security when connected to the internet.
Some practices include:
- Use Strong Passwords: Employees should be taught how to create complex passwords or given access to password-creation tools. Strong passwords are difficult to guess, but they can also be difficult to remember. Encourage the use of password managers, which generate strong passwords and store them for you.
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Training employees on how to enable MFA for their accounts. This additional layer of security makes it harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access to accounts, even if they have the password.
- Software Updates: Emphasize the importance of keeping software browsers and antivirus tools up to date. Outdated software can have vulnerabilities that hackers exploit to gain access to your systems.
- Data Backup: Regularly backing up important files protects the company from data loss. In the event of a ransomware attack, having a data backup available can thwart the attacker and keep the company on track with minimal time lost.
5. Develop a System for Incident Reporting
Employees can be hesitant to report suspicious activities or mistakes out of fear of punishment. By creating a culture where reporting is encouraged and not penalized, employees will report suspicious activities or mistakes in time to avoid a security breach.
- Develop Clear Reporting Channels: Employees should know how to report phishing attempts, suspicious emails or potential breaches and who to report them to. Having an easy-to-use, accessible reporting system encourages proactive behavior. An online reporting form is a good idea.
- No Punishment Policy: Employees are much less likely to hide mistakes if they know they won’t be punished for them. Develop a policy of learning from mistakes rather than assigning blame. This will ensure that mistakes are reported faster and a more effective response to potential security threats can be put in place.
6. Reward Learning
Reward good cybersecurity practices and encourage ongoing participation in training and retention of information with incentives.
For example, a monthly quiz that challenges employees to spot phishing emails or recognize social engineering tactics could foster friendly competition while reinforcing essential skills. Adding a small prize for the winner will encourage participation and cost the company far less than a data breach.
You can help reduce the risk of cyberattacks by training employees to spot and react to IT scams effectively. By educating employees on common scams, conducting regular simulations, fostering a zero-trust culture and promoting good practices, companies can create a security-conscious team. Regular training and a supportive environment where employees feel safe and empowered to identify and report potential threats are critical. With the right mindset and tools, you can make your organization stronger and more resilient to cybercrime.