Job Positions that Need to Be Aware of Cybersecurity Threats the Most

In today’s world, every employee has a role to play in the prevention of cyberattacks. This is because hackers continue to find creative ways to gain access to your organization’s data.

However, there are certain job positions that require more awareness about cyber threats than others. This is usually because of the access or control they have over sensitive data or as a result of the influence they have over decision making.

The Hacker’s Playbook Findings Report reveals malware attacks on enterprise security are successful more than 60% of the time. Enterprises need a plan to counteract them.

The following explores some of these key job positions that need to be more aware of cybersecurity threats as well as the top threats facing organizations today.

Top cybersecurity threats that organizations and their employees should be aware of

The cybersecurity landscape is so dynamic that as your organization battles to protect its data from existing challenges, newer and more potent cyber threats are springing up on a daily basis. Check out these Redditor picks for the best VPNs that can help you avoid some common cyber threats including third-party tracking.

Here are the top cyber threats that your organization’s employees should be aware of.

#1 Phishing & passwords attack

In 2016 alone, 30% of phishing messages were opened. This means that for these people, the messages appeared to be genuine. As hacker sophistication continues to rise, phishing messages will appear to look even more regular. As a result, your organization’s employees must be better trained on how to spot phishing in their tracks to reduce their success rate.

#2 Malware

With the current infiltration rate of malware attacks hovering around 60%, your organization most likely needs to be doing more to remain protected. In addition, research has revealed that once an organization is breached, hackers are usually able to navigate through its network 70% of the time.

Your employees would need to improve their working knowledge of how malware operates, threat vectors that propagate them and how to prevent them.

#3 DOS and DDOS attacks

Denial of service (DoS) and Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are typically aimed at overwhelming your organization’s web and server resources with unrealistically high traffic until your service crashes. Relevant employees of your organization will need to find more creative ways to protect your resources from attacks like this to prevent the consequent costs and business disruption.

4 job positions that need to be aware of cybersecurity threats the most

While we agree that every employee must have some level of cybersecurity awareness, here are the top four job positions in your organization that should possess increased levels of awareness to cyber threats.

1) Chief information security officer (CISO)

The CISO is the chief information and data security officer of your organization and is the executive responsible for creating and executing your security strategy to ensure that your information and technologies remain protected from internal and external threats.

For obvious reasons, your CISO must display higher levels of awareness for cyber threats than any other employee in order to lead the organization on a safer cyber path. A knowledgeable CISO will most likely result in a safer organization through improved strategy and programs.

2) Human resource (HR) personnel

The Human resource department of any organization usually handles a plethora of sensitive data. As a result, anyone working in this department must display an improved sense of data protection and awareness towards cyber threats that constantly target the data contained in their department.

3) Finance personnel

Just as the financial sector is always under attack, your finance department is constantly under threat from hackers. Attacks could either be directly on your finance department or indirectly via the contractors you deal with. As a result, your finance personnel must be able to quickly spot threats or take active steps to prevent them to avoid costly consequences to your finances and reputation.

4) Software engineering teams

As software engineers perform their unique role of creating solutions for your organization, they must do so with the awareness of how to best protect their solutions from cyber threats. From creating bug-free codes, to choosing the best web host and carrying out rigorous testing for quality assurance, your software engineering teams must be trained to create solutions that make your organization less susceptible to cyber attacks.

How to protect yourself online

Here are some top tips on how you can protect yourself and consequently your organization online.

— Stay knowledgeable

They say knowledge is power and when it comes to protecting yourself from cyber threats, nothing could be truer. By training your employees to understand how cyber criminals operate and the best ways to prevent their attacks, you’d be putting your organization one step ahead of these attackers. Regardless of your job position in any organization, it’s been widely established that you need to think like a hacker to beat one.

— Use a VPN

In its most basic level, a virtual private network (VPN) offers protection by replacing users’ original IP addresses and encrypting their traffic. By encrypting your traffic, VPNs can also prevent hackers from accessing your web log. Check out these Redditor picks for the best VPNs.

— Use reliable cybersecurity tools

Having all the knowledge about cyber threats mitigation without the right tools would be grossly insufficient in today’s cybersecurity landscape. If you’re going to stand any chance of success with protecting your organization’s digital assets, you’ll need to back your knowledge with the right tools.

From firewalls to antivirus software and even managed detection services, the use of reliable tools can help you ensure that you’re staying ahead as hackers continue to evolve their methods and sophistication.

Closing thoughts

It’s important to understand that even with the most rigorous cybersecurity awareness among critical employees, there is no guarantee that your organization would not experience cyber attacks. However, this doesn’t mean the doors to the castle should be left wide open. The more awareness within your organization especially among critical job positions, the less susceptible it will be to data breaches.

Alex.

CakeHR is an award-winning HR software company that provides attendance, performance and recruitment management for customers worldwide. More information at www.cake.hr