When it comes to securing your municipality’s data and information, relying on firewalls, endpoint detection and response, and secure remote connections is simply not enough.
Why?
Cybercriminals can simply trick employees and bypass your cybersecurity tools and solutions. Contrary to popular belief, most cyberattacks are not sophisticated technical hacks. Instead, cyberattackers often use social engineering to trick people—making the actions of your employees one of the greatest risks to your municipality. In fact, 90% of cybersecurity attacks begin in an email.
That’s not to say your employees are intentionally allowing cyberattacks. Employees are professional, smart, and trusted. However, we all get distracted and busy. As social engineering attacks increase in sophistication, a single mistake such as sharing personally identifiable information (PII) through a phishing email is all it takes for a data breach to occur.
All municipalities, no matter their size, are at risk for experiencing a cybersecurity attack caused by an employee. But how can you keep your employees accountable for securing sensitive data if they are not aware of the risks?
Security awareness training is a comprehensive, continuous program that trains individuals to recognize common cyber threats, understand the consequences of a cyberattack, and learn about ways to prevent a cyberattack.
If employees know more about how cyber threats can compromise a municipality, they will be more engaged in spotting those threats. Employee security awareness training is one of the best and most cost-effective cybersecurity investments you will make. With an employee security awareness training program in place, you not only increase employee knowledge and confidence but also establish a culture of security within your municipality.
VC3 is now helping municipalities address this problem with a new program called Cyber Aware that offers:
If you’re interested in learning more about how you can train your employees and keep them vigilant, reach out to us today through the form below.