Three Ways to Empower Employees on National Computer Security Day

Think of the last time you confirmed that all your passwords to every login were unique, updated those passwords regularly and set up MFA for each account. Don’t worry – we’ll wait. 

If it’s been a while, then National Computer Security Day may be the reminder you need. At Critical Start, we protect businesses who value and prioritize threat detection and cyber maturity. But unfortunately, for every savvy cyber expert in your organization, there is likely a password123-er. Or someone who wants to do some holiday shopping on their work laptop in between meetings. 

According to CyberTalk.Org, “National Computer Security Day is designed to raise awareness about cyber security issues” and “empowers people to take ownership of their online presence and identity.” The day was first celebrated in 1988 and is even more relevant today as we are increasingly online as a part of their everyday lives, from mobile grocery store orders to working within classified databases that hold valuable customer information. 

At Critical Start, we are always celebrating the importance of strong cybersecurity and want to make sure that all businesses – no matter the size – are equipped with the tools they need to educate employees on how to safely be online and protect their personal (and professional) information from threat actors. 

If you’d like to bring your employees up to date this National Computer Security Day, then look no further. We have a few ideas for you to try: 

1. Holding a Lunch & Learn on updated cyber security practices for your employees. Consider providing lunch – or a gift card for remote workers – for a special computer security lunch and learn. Go through your company’s most current policies and use the time to request that employees make new unique passwords, update their current passwords and set up MFA for all accounts.  

2. Give trivia fans their time to shine with a cybersecurity quiz! Share the quiz via email or on whatever collaborative communications app your workplace uses. See if your employees know your current cybersecurity policies or ask them to pinpoint what is wrong with phishing email examples. Send a prize to the winner or put everyone who participated in a drawing for a chance to win a fun treat. 

3. Share a friendly holiday shopping refresher. While Black Friday and Cyber Monday are now behind us, the holiday shopping season has just begun. We’re all human, and remote and hybrid work inevitably means that personal and office lives are blended. Communicate directly with employees kindly reminding them not to shop on work devices or access their personal email to find the best deals this season. It also doesn’t hurt to beware of phishing emails during their personal time (don’t forget to hover and check those links) or brand spoofing. We want all employees protected, whether they’re on or off the clock! 

While creating an open dialogue with your colleagues, make sure to allow plenty of space for questions in a no-judgment zone. Some employees may be self-conscious about asking in front of a crowd, but the goal is to make everyone feel comfortable enough to navigate their online presence safely and let your IT department know the very second they think something may have gone wrong. If someone makes a mistake but feels embarrassed or like they will be shamed for it, they may not come forward right away or at all – causing even more damage. 

Once your staff is all up to date on your cybersecurity practices, connect with us to see how we can help your business reduce risk, reduce expenses and increase efficiency with our Managed Detection and Response services and the industry’s first MOBILESOC^®.  

As you gear up for a new year, we know you have a lot of good security solutions to choose from. And while they’re good, we’re better and we’d love to tell you why.