How do you train your staff to avoid phishing and other ransomware vectors?

2 Test your staff

The second step to prevent phishing and ransomware is to test your staff's knowledge and awareness of these attacks. You can use tools or services that simulate phishing or ransomware campaigns and send them to your staff's email or devices. Then, you can monitor and measure how they react, such as whether they open, click, or report the fake messages. This can help you identify the weak points and gaps in your staff's training and behavior, and provide feedback and guidance on how to improve them.

3 Reward your staff

The third step to prevent phishing and ransomware is to reward your staff for following the best practices and avoiding the traps. You can create incentives and recognition programs that reward your staff for completing the training sessions, passing the tests, reporting the incidents, or providing suggestions on how to enhance your security. This can help you foster a positive and proactive security culture among your staff, and motivate them to stay vigilant and alert.

4 Update your systems

The fourth step to prevent phishing and ransomware is to update your systems and software regularly. You should ensure that your operating system, applications, antivirus, firewall, and other security tools are up to date and patched with the latest security fixes and features. This can help you prevent vulnerabilities and exploits that hackers can use to launch phishing or ransomware attacks. You should also enable automatic updates or use a centralized management system to apply the updates across your network.

5 Backup your data

The fifth step to prevent phishing and ransomware is to backup your data frequently and securely. You should have a backup strategy that covers all your critical data and files, and store them in a separate location or device, such as an external hard drive, a cloud service, or a tape drive. This can help you recover your data in case of a ransomware attack, or a hardware failure, or a natural disaster. You should also test your backups regularly and verify that they are working and accessible.

6 Review your policies

The sixth step to prevent phishing and ransomware is to review your policies and procedures related to your security and data protection. You should have clear and comprehensive policies that define the roles and responsibilities of your staff, the rules and guidelines for using your systems and devices, the protocols and standards for handling and storing your data, and the procedures and plans for responding to and recovering from incidents. You should also communicate and enforce these policies across your organization, and update them as needed.