Security Staff Acquisition & Development, Training

AwareGO offers free 30-minute cyber course in March for small businesses

A student codes app programs during computer class Feb. 13, 2019, at Virginia Allred Stacey Junior/Senior High School at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. (Staff Sgt. Krystal Wright/Air Force)

Security awareness training company AwareGO recently announced the availability of a free 30-minute cybersecurity training course for up to 500 employees.

The company said it would make this intensive cybersecurity awareness training available until March 31. The training has been designed to quickly help organizations and their employees identify and prevent potential cyberattacks.

“Right now, we are living in historic times, with conflict and turmoil,” said Ari Jonsson, CEO of AwareGO. “In such a situation, there are serious concerns about increased cyberattacks. Having technical measures in place, such as firewalls and encryption, is good, but it’s simply not enough as 85% of all successful cyber break-ins are done by fooling people rather than machines. The truly critical component in any organization’s cybersecurity toolbox is up-to-date and aware employees.”

Bud Broomhead, CEO at Viakoo, added that threat actors are always looking for low-hanging fruit, and small and medium sized organizations are often easier to breach than larger ones. Broomhead said with work-from-home blurring the lines between a person being compromised versus a business being compromised, training becomes even more important.   

“This training is a good starting point, but organizations should build upon it, especially for situations that are unique to them,” Broomhead said. “For example, organizations with IoT devices will need to pay special attention to keeping them on separate networks and keeping their firmware up-to-date with the latest security fixes. In addition to training, organizations of all sizes should have a process to test or audit employees to make sure the security training can be carried through in the actions employees take.”

John Bambenek, principal threat hunter at Netenrich, said more public and free security awareness training always helps.

“However, when it comes to small-to-medium business, particularly in the sub-500 full-time equivalent category, the business simply isn’t aware that these tools exist,” Bambenek said. “Often, they don’t have the savvy to require them even if they did. Much of the U.S. economy is SMB and, for the most part, they don’t have the time, employees, or resources to even leverage free tools.”

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