The purpose of training employees on cybersecurity is to alter habits and behaviors around certain circumstances. When you are training people, keeping them informed is one thing, but there are other tactics we can employ to ensure they get the training they need.

One way to ensure this information sinks in for people is to consider these tactics for all employees.

First, make the training mandatory for all new employees regardless of department or job description. You want to be creating awareness of online threats and that awareness needs to start on day one. As part of the initiation process, slip a cybersecurity course in there and ensure it covers all the key topics.

Topics like data protection, internet usage, and other topics like reporting threats. Have all of these in an employee handbook.

The second practice is to update and repeat training often. People don’t learn once and they’re done. In order for information to stick, you need to repeat the information on a regular basis. Learning is as much of a habit as us checking our phone first thing in the morning.

How you want to cover that material again is up to you. Quiz people, set up surveys, having regular discussions, or go through the program all over again. There are all kinds of methods to consider.

But on top of keeping up the training regularly, you also want to be updating the programs too. Remember that hackers are always working on finding various ways to attack people. As such, you want to make sure your information is recent and current to today's trends.

The last practice is to give employees authority. That doesn’t mean promoting them on the spot or anything, but rather elevating them and letting them know how important they are. After all, employees are the very first line of defense for any security system. So by getting employee support, and making cybersecurity a core element of your culture, you can better defend against it.

In order for that to happen incorporate games to keep people engaged, highlight security training achievements, and provide learning management systems which give employees the power to control their learning.

And when there are threats coming that could present problems, issue company-wide emails. Let people know how much their training is going to help them in defending the company.

Having strong firewalls, and antivirus software is good, but they’re only as good as the people who use the devices. Improve your employee’s training in this area and you’ll see a tighter security with the company.