There are often times where a little education can go a long way towards making positive changes for the operation of your business. This is especially true when it comes to cybersecurity.
If you operate an organization within the healthcare field, you understand the importance of data protection practices and cybersecurity as they relate to HIPAA and HITRUST compliance. However, the main question is, are your employees on the same page as you are?
If they are not, now is the time to improve your company’s approach to cybersecurity through security awareness training programs and services.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the benefits of cyber security awareness training for healthcare businesses, and how increasing your team’s knowledge today leads to a better tomorrow.
What is Cyber Awareness Training?
Before explaining the benefits & importance of cyber security awareness training, it’s crucial to understand what cyber awareness training is.
Cyber awareness training is a method used by IT service providers and cybersecurity professionals to mitigate and prevent cyber risk through education. It helps your team understand their role in data protection, potential risks that could be caused by their actions, and how to identify potential threats found on the web and in their email.
Cyber awareness training covers critical areas that include:
- Data privacy
- Internet and web security
- Password management practices
- Email and phishing attack prevention
With the average cost of a data breach jumping from $3.86 million to $4.24 million in 2021 – a 17-year high – it is now more important than ever before to ensure your employees have proper cybersecurity awareness training. This will prevent heavy regulatory fines and irreparable reputational damage to your business.
Interested in learning more about the benefits of security awareness training? Check out these blogs:
- Security Risk Assessment Checklist & Steps
- The Five Flaws of a Security Risk Assessment
- Cyber Threat Security Remediation: The 6 Steps You Should Know
The Five Benefits of Cyber Security Training
Now that you understand the objectives of cyber awareness training, let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits it brings to your company.
1. Improving Organizational Awareness
A recent Stanford University study showed that approximately 88% of data breaches are caused by human error. That is significant, considering that employees are generally seen as the first line of cyber defense.
Furthermore, the study indicated that 50% of the employees surveyed stated that they were fairly sure that certain errors they made while working may have caused security-related problems for their companies.
One of the benefits of information security awareness training is that those numbers will significantly decrease if your staff has the proper training. A comprehensive training program empowers your team to identify potential threats and take action before they impact your day-to-day functions.
An effective training program ensures a collective understanding of the importance of user technology security education within organizations while developing and enhancing your security culture.
2. Regulatory Compliance
The healthcare industry is among the most heavily regulated in the world. One small mistake can be costly to your business, in terms of fines and damage to your reputation.
Another of the benefits of security awareness training is that your employees will reinforce their knowledge of HIPAA, HITRUST, and other important compliance standards. They will learn how to properly handle private information to ensure compliance, thereby adding another level of digital protection to your business.
As healthcare providers manage and process large amounts of sensitive information daily, avoiding compliance infractions and violations is a must.
In response to this, a 2021 Hyperproof study showed that 83% of those interviewed planned to purchase or evaluate new tools that simplify or automate risk management and compliance.
Credit: Pavel Danilyuk
3. Cyber Threat Reduction
As cyber attacks increase and hackers become craftier in their approaches to breaching organizations and exploiting loopholes, it becomes increasingly vital to bring the benefits of cyber security awareness training to your company.
Cyber awareness training educates your employees on best practices for information security as it pertains to software, applications, information systems and other forms of technology used for data management and processing. It also increases their awareness about social engineering attacks like phishing.
You can further reinforce this knowledge through simulated phishing attacks or penetration testing. These services provide real-life examples of how data breaches can affect your business.
4. Downtime Prevention
Downtime caused by IT outages and security breaches not only grinds your productivity to a halt, but also carries a heavy cost.
According to Gartner, the average cost of IT downtime is $5,600 per minute. If your business was forced offline for an hour, that would result in a cost of $336,000. Multiply that by 24 hours, and you’d be facing a potential loss of $8,064,000.
You can’t afford to take a colossal financial hit like that. Fortunately, this dire situation can ultimately be avoided with cyber awareness training.
If your employees are properly trained on the principles of cybersecurity and understand the role they play in data protection, you’ll significantly reduce the likelihood of facing downtime as a result of a cyber attack and maintain normal operations.
5. Improving Client Confidence
Client awareness of cybersecurity risks and data breaches and cyber threats breaches is rapidly increasing. As they increase their understanding, it’s up to your business to respond by ensuring a proactive approach to data protection and threat avoidance.
The results of a Ponemon study showed that 31% of clients ended their relationships with healthcare companies after they experienced a cybersecurity breach. Additionally, 65% stated that breaches profoundly impacted their trust in their provider.
This data proves why it is crucial for healthcare companies to prioritize the importance of security awareness training and educating employees.
The more informed and proactive your staff is about cybersecurity awareness and data protection, the more likely your clients will be to show confidence in your organization and continue doing business with you.
Take a Proactive Approach to Cyber Awareness Training
Reap the benefits of cyber security training by partnering with Techumen.
Learn More
Bring the Benefits of Information Security Awareness Training to Your Business With Techumen
Now that you understand the benefits & importance of cybersecurity awareness training for your organization, the next step is to improve your security posture with cyber awareness training.
As a leader in the healthcare cybersecurity and compliance industries, Techumen can help your team reap the benefits of security awareness training and how they are instrumental to creating a culture of protection.
From HIPAA compliance assistance to security program advisory services, our experts have more than 20 years of experience helping healthcare organizations mitigate data breaches and other security risks. We can also develop customized security awareness programs for your organization that ensure well-trained employees.
Empower your workforce by improving their cybersecurity knowledge and education. Contact us today for more information on how we can help your business realize the benefits of cyber security training.
Featured Photo Credit: Christina Morillo