A recent report has found that just 15% of IT decision makers in small organisations “completely agree” that their employees have a good understanding of cyber security, and 20% believe their employees don’t care about cyber security at all.
What’s more worrying is that despite these concerns, just 26% have introduced cyber security training for their employees. 15% stated that they “haven’t got around to it yet” while 5% think additional training should be offered but confessed that “they didn’t know where to start”.
Other key findings
- 17% of small UK businesses have suffered at least one cyber attack in the past year.
- 19% have been targeted between 6 and 10 times in the past year.
- 51% of organisations with 50–99 employees suspect that a breach has been kept a secret from them.
- 53% agreed that it seemed logical for cyber security awareness training to be near the top of the business agenda.
These findings are very concerning as small businesses are exposing themselves to unnecessary risks. Small businesses typically believe that they are immune to cyber security threats, when it’s their very lack of interest in cyber security that makes them a favourable target for cyber criminals.
According to the report, “The UK’s small business community needs to rid itself of this idea that they are ‘too small’ to be targeted by cyber criminals. While they may not be targeted individually, they are highly likely to fall within a ‘mass targeting’ scheme where hundreds or thousands of small businesses are targeted at the same time.”
Where to start with staff awareness training?
Implementing staff awareness training doesn’t have to be time-consuming and expensive. E-learning courses are a preferred option for training employees because they are cost-effective and can be implemented quickly and with minimal disruption – the training can be taken around existing commitments.
Our Information Security and Cyber Security Staff Awareness E-Learning Course teaches staff the basics of data security, information security risks, cyber security risks and dealing with threats. It also provides an overview of security weaknesses that criminals exploit and provides employees with the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained, through practical activities and an assessment.
Find out more about our e-learning courses and how they can help improve employee awareness within your organisation here.
About our e-learning courses
Our e-learning courses are hosted on our sister company GRC eLearning Ltd’s LMS (learning management system). GRC eLearning Ltd is an expert in customisation and bespoke e-learning solutions. It also provides free trials so you can take a closer look at the courses, and offers one-to-one consultations to discuss your customisation requirements in more detail.
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