Technology isn’t slowing down, and by proxy, neither is criminal activity. Cybercrime is one of the most prolific threats today, targeting businesses and personal computers. It constantly evolves, battling the patches and changes designed to counter it, meaning the struggle to remain safe is never ending.

For a company, especially mid-sized to smaller, this is an immense source of anxiety. Understandably so, no business wants to go belly up because savvy parties flat lined a server rack or stole credit card info.

Likely, you might have invested in a complex security program or built a layered security network. That’s a good start.

But even the strongest systems are vulnerable, and that’s because it all relies on one key ingredient: people.

Technical competency is mandatory. Your workforce must have an understanding of safe cyber practices; otherwise, each one is a potential risk to the entire network infrastructure.

Despite how malware, phishing scams and hackers evolve, the core principles remain the same: tricking the end user to give away sensitive info. While there are numerous type of brute force attacks like DDoS or password crackers, malicious parties rely on deception to successfully bypass security.

Teaching employees ways to circumvents these threats is critical. Keeping apps updated, identifying suspicious emails, ignoring junk and using anti-virus software are few essential techniques a worker should employ while on the job.

Security is a long-term benefit. Take a popular threat type, for instance: phishing scams. Every day these attacks grow in sophistication, emulating official emails that can trick one into handing over critical data without realizing.

A trained worker will see the threat for what it is. They’ll look for things like spelling errors, inconsistencies in syntax, strange typography, and overall tone of a message.

This long-term training means you’re protected from even the most polished phishing email, because the employee was taught how to identify dangerous messages.

Additionally, what’s the use of a complex security system if it’s not followed correctly? You can have the best anti-virus around along with critical monitoring offered by a third-party, but if someone happens to give away the company login, the security becomes void.

Human error is the downfall of even the greatest systems. But, you can better prepare your business for various cyber threats by keeping staff in the know about the best way to protect them.

Often, a threat occurs when it’s accessed from within, leading to various problems.

Test your staff and make sure they’re competent with cyber security practices. If not, you may find your business at serious risk. Remember: an ounce of knowledge is the difference between an active company and a defunct one.