Why New Employees Need Cybersecurity Awareness Training

As soon as a new employee starts at an organization, they become a target for cybercriminals. 

There are many reasons for this: 

• New employees are typically less familiar with the organization's security protocols and are more likely to make errors
• They may be given access to sensitive data or other assets (like credit cards) before they've had a chance to undergo proper security training
• They may not be familiar with the organization's security policies
• They may not know how to identify a phishing attempt
•  They are also likely to be eager to please, which makes them particularly vulnerable to spear-phishing attacks that spoof senior leaders within the organization or other high authority persons
• They may be targeted by malicious emails or phishing scams that exploit their inexperience

These are just some of the reasons why it is of critical importance to provide new employees with cybersecurity awareness training right away. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of providing such training and outline some of the best ways to do it.

When to provide security training to new employees

As soon as possible! Ideally, foundational cybersecurity awareness training would be part of their onboarding experience. This training should cover basic concepts such as social engineering, phishing, and the organization’s security policies, but ideally, it would also address the specific risks to new employees outlined above. 

How to get started 

If you are interested in providing employees with cybersecurity awareness training, there are a few things you need to do to get started. 

1. Identify the goals of the training
2. Select a method of delivery 
3. Develop or purchase a training program
4. Promote the training to employees and ensure they have the opportunity to complete it 
5. Measure the engagement and effectiveness of your training program 
6. Decide what training is required for new employees on their first day 

Providing new employees with cybersecurity awareness training is an important step in protecting your organization from data breaches. By taking the time to provide such training, you can meaningfully reduce the risk of a cyber incident and make sure your new employees get off to a great start and don’t have the all-too-common experience of being exploited by hackers in their first few days of work! 

What are your thoughts on providing new employees with cybersecurity awareness training? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!