Are you concerned that the strengthening of cybersecurity policies will have a negative impact on your team’s productivity?

Your approach to cybersecurity shouldn’t be sacrificing one thing for another. With strategic planning, investment in systems, and a commitment to creating a culture of security awareness, organisations can keep achieving their goals in the ever-evolving climate of cyber threats.

In this blog post, we’ve looked at the best ways for organisations to improve their cybersecurity protocols without impacting productivity.

Empowering your team with cybersecurity awareness

Cybersecurity awareness training is the most effective way to empower your team and encourage them to care about cybersecurity. By educating them on the risks involved and the steps they should take when faced with threats, you can build a strong cybersecurity culture. This is vital when considering how to balance security and productivity.

If your protocols appear as a hurdle to your employees, they’ll try to find ways around them. The measures you put in place should simplify cybersecurity without compromising on protection; your team should be educated not only on what they must do but why. Engaging employees with ongoing, interactive training will enhance their awareness and improve their practical responses to threats, as well as their acceptance of protocols. This reduces bad practices such as using unauthorised file sharing applications, weak passwords, or blatantly ignoring policies. Educate your team on the cybersecurity measures you’re using, and they’ll be able to use them efficiently. If you’re unsure on how to do so, we offer cybersecurity awareness training and consultancy to help you find not only solutions that work but the best way to implement them.

Optimise Security Protocols

Seamlessly integrating cybersecurity practices into your daily operations is essential for staying protected without sacrificing productivity. Ensuring system efficiency is just as critical to keeping everything running smoothly.

• Work with a cybersecurity consultant: A trusted consultant can guide you on where to start and provide expert advice on improving your protocols.
• Penetration testing and patch management: These processes help identify vulnerabilities and ensure that all software is up-to-date and secure.

For businesses looking to improve their IT systems, an IT systems audit is a great starting point. Most companies rely heavily on IT for daily operations, making it essential to:

• Monitor, adapt, and improve systems: Regularly evaluate your IT controls to ensure everything is operating as intended.
• Demonstrate compliance: Audits help align your systems with legal and regulatory obligations, ensuring you meet business objectives while staying secure.

Utilising strict access control

Breaches and data leaks are often the result of misplaced trust or overly generous access policies; developing and enforcing strict access control is vital for reducing this risk. The ‘principle of least privilege’ gives employees access to the minimal amount of data necessary to do their job, reducing targets for attack and the risk from insider threats. Employees should still be able to access files quickly and efficiently, which is where role-based access control can help, setting an employee’s access rights based on their role within the organisation. This ensures each user has a tailored level of access that allows them to work effectively without creating vulnerabilities.

Strengthen password security without slowing productivity

Passwords are incredibly vulnerable and often stolen by cybercriminals, so additional steps need to be taken to protect them; however, protection doesn’t have to come at the expense of productivity. Using a vault-style system to securely store credentials, password managers allow users to create and keep track of secure passwords without having to memorise them all.

Password managers like 1Password and Keeper generate and store strong, unique passwords for each account, eliminating the need for users to memorise or reuse passwords. While some may find the initial setup and integration of a password manager slightly cumbersome, the long-term benefits far outweigh the temporary inconvenience.

• Multi-factor authentication: Pair password managers with multi-factor or two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security. This requires users to verify their identity in multiple ways, such as receiving a one-time code sent to a trusted mobile device.
• Boost security: Combining strong password management with multi-factor authentication significantly reduces the likelihood of a successful cyberattack.

Invest In secure systems

Where your business is responsible for handling data, adopting a secure, trusted cloud-based service as part of your IT infrastructure is essential. This is a secure database that can be operated under stringent access control. Cloud infrastructure has many benefits, such as reliability, cost-effectiveness, security, and flexibility, which maintain productivity when working remotely. Ensuring the security of these systems becomes part of your penetration testing, so the system can be checked for vulnerabilities or any evolving risks.

Similarly, businesses can invest in secure employee collaboration tools. The key to productivity is teams working together, so you need to provide a secure channel for communication. Many trusted collaboration tools have enhanced security features to protect companies and their data. Project management tools such as Teams, Slack, and Trello keep productivity up without compromising data.

Clearly establish which systems employees are allowed to use to reduce the risk of employees exposing data through unauthorised channels. Access to these systems can also be managed through password managers and 2-factor authentication to ensure criminals cannot breach them. Choosing the right cybersecurity tools can make a significant difference in maintaining productivity, so look for systems that will seamlessly integrate with your existing protocols.

The next steps…

Now that you know what you need, you may be wondering how you implement it. Enlist the help of a cybersecurity consultant. At SupPortal, we can support you in assessing and choosing systems that will work for you. With penetration testing and IT audits, we can look for vulnerabilities and make amendments to build a stronger solution that works for your business and its employees. We’ll work out a comprehensive cybersecurity plan that can adapt and evolve with your needs.

Given that 95% of breaches are caused by human error, according to IBM, strengthening your team’s cybersecurity awareness is non-negotiable. Our training programs are designed to reduce human error and ensure your employees are your first line of defence.

You can have the most up-to-date security systems in place, but it only takes one user to make an innocent mistake, which could compromise your entire system. Our online training programs offer short, engaging videos alongside quizzes, gamification, and simulations. Monitor your staff progress with progress reports and unearth the areas that require more focus. Cyber security awareness training is an affordable, effective, and easy-to-implement tool that every business should utilise. It will help ensure your team follows best practices to mitigate risk and demonstrate a strong security posture to your customers and associates.

Find out more about our cybersecurity awareness training here, or contact us to see how we can boost your cyber defences and employee productivity: [email protected]