Swing Into Security: Tee Up Your Org with Awareness Training

Here at KirkpatrickPrice, the longer days and warmer weather are giving us even more energy to help our clients swing into security best practices that will help them become unstoppable. A lot goes into making an organization secure and compliant, as we’re sure you already know, but have you stopped to think about how important your people are to this process? Spoiler alert: they are essential to your ability to reach your security goals. That’s why we’ve dedicated this month’s Readiness Report to security awareness training.??

In this issue, you will learn:?

? Why security awareness training is so important?

? What your organization's training practices should look like??

? How you can tee your organization up for success this spring??

P.S. - Know someone who would benefit from monthly audit readiness and security tips? Pass along this link so they can subscribe to The Readiness Report.

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Take Home the Title with Security Awareness Training

It’s safe to say that we’ve all had run-ins with golf throughout our lives. We’ve played mini golf or had fathers and grandfathers try to pass along their skills on the green. For some of us, the sport stuck and has become a favorite weekend pass time, and for others, we left our golfing experience on that awkward first date at the pirate-themed putt putt course.??

Whichever category you fall under, we can all agree that the sport isn’t as easy as it looks. That’s why the upcoming Masters tournament is so impressive. These golfers have spent years honing their craft and training for this moment in hopes of taking home a green blazer of their own.??

The golfers who will compete next week did not just stumble upon their success. They had to train hard to get to this point, and they had coaches and mentors that helped them achieve their goals. In the same way, organizations can’t expect security and compliance to come naturally to their employees. Security awareness training is essential for all members of your company if you want to take home a title (or audit report) of your own.??

Audit Readiness: Swing into Security by Training Your Team?

Unfortunately, people are the weakest link in an organization’s security. But it’s not always their fault! It’s hard for them to help keep the organization safe when they haven’t been taught security best practices or what to look for when it comes to breaches or suspicious activity. That’s where security awareness training comes in. Properly preparing your employees to face security threats confidently will improve your org’s overall security.??

But just like with any champion, you need a game plan. Tiger didn’t win the master's five times without a strategy, after all.??

When creating security awareness training for your company, make sure to include curriculum on these five topics:??

1. Physical Security?

1. Password Security?

1. Phishing?

1. Social Engineering??

1. Malware??

Not only is security awareness training extremely beneficial to your organization’s security and compliance program but it’s also required by various compliance frameworks, such as SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, FISMA, ISO 27001/27002.??

For more information on the specific security awareness training requirements of these frameworks, check out this blog on our website.??

The More You Know

As busy as our work lives get, it can be really difficult to stay up to date on what feel like “extra” tasks. However, when we don’t prioritize important tasks that fall outside of our day-to-day work, the overall company can suffer. Security awareness training may seem like one of those extra tasks that are easy to put off, but by not adequately training members of your organization on security best practices, you’re leaving your business vulnerable to preventable security events and breaches.??

In this video, one of our experts, Greg Halpin, highlights some ways you can stay up to date on your security awareness training. Your employees will be shooting security hole-in-ones in no time!?

Privacy Notifications

This month our VP of Privacy Assurance Services, Mark Hinley, let us know about the EU passing their proposed artificial intelligence regulation. Here’s what you need to know:??

This regulation will become effective in stages, starting in the next six months, and all requirements will be effective within approximately two years.?

The law divides AI uses into four categories of risk, and the riskier the AI use, the greater the restrictions and requirements. The four risk categories, including examples, are:?

1. Unacceptable - banned uses such as social scoring and biometric uses related to race, politics or sexual orientation?

1. High - uses related to medical devices, utilities/infrastructure, education, hiring, and determining government benefits??

1. Limited - chatbots?

1. Minimal or no risk - spam filters?

As with existing privacy laws, EU’s AI law requires organizations to:?

• Assess privacy risk before implementing AI, especially high risk uses?
• Provide notice about the use of AI, the kind of training AI models have undergone, and labeling of AI generated images, video and audio?
• Allow individuals to opt out of certain uses of AI?

If you have questions about this regulation or are looking to start a Privacy audit, connect with one of our privacy experts today.??

In Case You Missed It??

Last month, our Director of Advisory Services, Todd Atnip, CISSP discussed Florida’s proposed Cybersecurity Incident Liability Bill and how the NIST framework can help organization fall under the bill’s protection during our webinar, Securing the Sunshine State: The Cybersecurity Liability Bill and NIST CSF 2.0. If you weren't able to attend, you can still catch up on what you missed by listening to the full webinar recording here.?

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KirkpatrickPrice is the leader in cyber security and compliance audit reports. Our experienced auditors know audits are hard, so they take complicated audits such as SOC 1, SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, HITRUST, GDPR, and ISO 27001 and make them worth it. The firm has issued over 10,000 reports to over 1,200 clients worldwide, giving its clients trusted results and the assurance they deserve. Using its Online Audit Manager, the world’s first compliance platform, KirkpatrickPrice partners its clients with an expert to guide them through the entire audit process, from audit readiness to final report.

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