by Felicien | Mar 27, 2018 | Education
Here Are The 10 Things You’re Doing Wrong
Email is a very effective marketing tool. However, it’s also tough to execute properly. If you don’t plan correctly, understand what you’re doing wrong and how to remedy this, you’re simply wasting your time and money.
You aren’t getting new subscribers.
If you can’t entice new subscribers, you are simply spinning your wheels. Without an ever-increasing pool of subscribers, your open rates will suffer. If you want to grow your email list, you must clearly state the benefits of subscribing to it. Clearly state what you can offer, and how you can address people’s concerns. Your prospects need to know why they should sign on. Consider offering something for free that you believe will be of value to them like a free trial, sample product or document with relevant information.
Your subscribers keep leaving.
The best way to ensure that your current subscribers stay with you is by sending out relevant emails to the right audience. You must correctly identify your target audiences and segment your email list accordingly – this way you can address the various pain points for different subscribers. By segmenting your list, you can not only retain more subscribers but increase your click-through rates as well. All too often, an email strategy is more focused on the company’s needs rather than the customers’. Receiving too many irrelevant emails is the main reason subscribers opt out. If you want to keep subscribers, stay focused on your target audience and their needs, rather than yours.
Your email subject lines aren’t eye-catching.
This is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face. People are overwhelmed with the amount of email they receive and will only open the messages that catch their eye. You must grab their attention in the subject line. Craft a message that is short and to the point. Personalizing the message in your subject line and keeping your message to fewer than 30 characters should help. A carefully written subject line will entice recipients to read the rest of your email.
You’re understaffed.
Performance always suffers when resources are limited. If you’re understaffed and “burning the midnight oil” just to stay afloat, your quality will suffer. Streamline your email process and look for bottlenecks and obstacles that slow your workflow. Take advantage of software automation tools that help your email team design and code emails more quickly. If necessary, you may need to hire more staffers, both full-time and part-time, or contract with freelancers. Freelancers can also offer expertise that your team may lack.
Your deliverability suffers.
You may have the best emails and subject lines, but if they are being sent to the junk inbox, you’re doomed to failure. Your emails must get through any spam filters. When your deliverability rate suffers, you can get blocked altogether by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). How do you fix this? Don’t use spam words in your subject lines. Phrases such as “make money,” “earn cash,” “save $” will go directly to spam mail. And, of course, ensure that your prospects’ email addresses are accurate. Consider asking people who visit your website to re-confirm their email address when signing on to your list. This way you can make sure you have their correct email address from the start.
You need a new ESP.
You need an Email Service Provider that works for you. Some focus more on larger enterprises or certain verticals like e-commerce. You need an ESP that fits your brand. Try using more than one to see if this is the problem. Measure your success rates with each one. You can employ analytics tracking with multiple ESPs. Some businesses use up to four different ones to increase the odds that their emails will be delivered. Use the ones that provide you the best rates for delivery.
You need to cull your list.
You may need to remove contacts that have been inactive for a long time or those who never open your emails or go to your website. If you know that a lot of the emails on your list are no longer active, delete them. They just cost you money. You must maintain your list. You can also do this by letting subscribers manage their preferences (to opt-out if they want). Set up a way for them to change their communication preferences like what kind of information they want to receive or how often they want to receive them. This helps to build the sense of trust that they require to stay with you.
Your team is sabotaging your efforts.
You may be doing everything right, but other departments aren’t. If customer service is lacking, you’re sure to lose subscribers. If your website or mobile application isn’t easy to use, subscribers will get frustrated and go to a competitor. Keeping customers happy requires teamwork. Get together regularly with other departments in your company to share experiences, concerns, successes, and insights. Ensure your team members are onboard with your email strategy, measure your results and work together to fix what’s broken. Set up read-only access to your marketing emails for team members so they’re kept apprised. Everyone must be on the same page and working in unison.
You’re not measuring results and adjusting your strategy accordingly.
Measuring the performance of email campaigns is imperative. Unless you know what works and what doesn’t, you’re leaving money on the table. Implement a closed-loop marketing strategy to achieve the results you’re looking for. This means following a subscriber from the initial point of contact to their conversion as a paying customer. Be sure to leverage the available data from your ESP and feed your data back to them to get more visibility into your results. When making adjustments based on data, do so in increments and prioritize your changes. This way you can continue to measure the results of your changes one by one until you get it right.
You aren’t using the right process.
Not having a plan will make your job so much more difficult. Your email process should be designed to speed up your email production and improve quality control. You need an extensive pre-sending plan. Here’s one to go by. You fill in the blanks according to your goals.
Plan your marketing strategy
Collect data on your target audience
Construct your database
Define your email plan
Define your content
Setup your emails
Send your emails
Measure your results
Goal setting is crucial to your email marketing success. It will help to guide the direction of your campaign, make it easier for you to measure results, and increase the odds that you’ll ultimately succeed in the end.
by Felicien | Mar 26, 2018 | Education
A recent report by the U.S. Marine Corps indicates an unintended data disclosure, the result of a single accidental keystroke. Never backing down from a fight, learn from Jarheads how to best defend yourself from a data breach and strengthen your position!
Have you ever thought twice about clicking “send” after drafting an email? We’re sure you have; everyone has. The most common reasons involve editing the text for clarity, context, or tone. Sometimes you verify the email addresses for the “to” field. These are all great measures that everyone can — and should — take before sending an email, especially one with sensitive data enclosed.
Yet, accidents happen. A recent accidental keystroke shared an email to an incorrect distribution list, which included the unencrypted personal data of more than 20,000 U.S. Marines, their families, and civilians. Social security numbers, bank details, credit card information, home and mailing addresses, and emergency contact information were all disclosed. Does this fall under the label of “data breach” if the disclosure was part of an “oops” and not a cyber attack?
Marine Forces Reserve spokesperson Andrew Aranda has said the Marines’ IT staff is reviewing cybersecurity and information assurance processes to update their overall guidelines and to better train team members at every level. More importantly, this was an accident without malicious intent, and a cybersecurity vulnerability was not the cause. Additionally, the United States Armed Forces branches fully understand the great responsibility to protect highly-confidential personally identifiable information (PII) stored in their records and a lengthy history of excellence in this arena.
More than 20,000 individuals will now need to diligently check their credit report on a regular basis to ensure this disclosure doesn’t leave them open to identity theft. Add to this number the family members potentially impacted, and the full amount affected could double or triple. This is a story too well-known by millions of Americans in recent years. Customers of Anthem, Target, eBay, and The Home Depot are just a few examples of organizations whose customers have been impacted by data breaches. Cybercriminals and cyberterrorists — hackers — are just waiting for a weakness to exploit. This introduces two key questions:
How effective are an organization’s cybersecurity protocols and training?
What can consumers do to protect themselves if they’ve been impacted by a data breach?
How aware are the individuals behind this incident of security protocols and risks? The basic information assurance training from as recent as a year ago isn’t current for today’s needs as a means of self-awareness and protection.
What is information assurance? When information is processed, stored, or transmitted (data) involving systems, there are risks. Information assurance is the effort a group takes to protect this data and these systems to ensure the security of the data and minimize risks involved.
The focus of information assurance is on the security of data. While “protection of data” may not be the first concept that comes to mind when you think of the United States armed forces, the protection of its people is an inherent byproduct of its very nature. The military does not operate in the same ways as Corporate America, with many factors contributing to the differences. One thing is certain: the military takes its duty to serve and protect American citizens very seriously and is dedicated to assisting those impacted.
How can consumers protect themselves?
Credit Reports
As we already mentioned, check credit reports regularly. Once a cybercriminal has a name, address, and a few pieces of personal information, this data can be used to misrepresent an identity online.
Consumers are entitled to one free credit report each year, at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/
Anyone can add a fraud alert to their credit report with each credit reporting agency for added protection. This will prompt a two-step verification process for any attempt to open a new account in someone’s name, and is a very helpful feature to protect someone’s identity from being used by other parties.
Passwords
Aside from checking credit reports, we strongly suggest changing all passwords. Most importantly, start with changing passwords for online banking, credit cards, email, and social media accounts. After these, move on to seemingly innocuous accounts like the United States Post Office and those for magazines or local newspapers, with active subscriptions.
It’s worth it to keep a list of all locations with usernames and passwords. Imagine how helpful this list might be in this situation, cutting response time drastically and potentially reducing the overall impact. Just don’t store the list somewhere online, like email. If that is the first thing a hacker can access, they have access to everything after discovering this data goldmine!
Make sure new passwords created are complex, using a combination of capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols like ?!@#$%.
Change passwords on desktop systems to prevent a sophisticated hacker from accessing further personal data, or giving them the smallest access point to plant a virus or ransomware, or even mine cryptocurrency.
Running the most recent updates and install these packages immediately will help close any security gaps discovered by operating system manufacturers and application developers.
Credit Cards
In this case, credit card numbers were included in the disclosed data. It’s a huge pain, but it’s worth it in the long run for protection to report the accounts as compromised and have new card numbers issued.
Every day brings a story of new ways hackers use to access PII of consumers and how this information is used to their advantage – and to the detriment of the consumers affected. Consumers need to regularly assess their risk and do their best to eliminate the unknown, where possible by taking these measures to protect themselves. Maintaining a realistic perspective on this risk will be instrumental as “an ounce of prevention” here.
In modern days of digital communication, we can never be too careful as hackers are becoming far more sophisticated and staying one step ahead of consumers. Imagine if cybercriminals used their power for good!
Don’t let one mistake cause years of hassles and headaches – talk to an expert if you think you’ve been compromised in this or any other data breach, and protect yourself.
by Felicien | Mar 26, 2018 | Education
Like many others, I was curious about the cryptocurrency craze. I wanted to know more about Bitcoin and how to invest in it, but I didn’t know where to turn.
Last year, one of my family members made over USD 200K off a Bitcoin investment. Plus, a friend of his made over USD 900K in the same time frame trading Bitcoin and new cryptocurrencies. When I asked them what their secret was, they said, “dumb luck”. Bitcoin took its largest jump just a few weeks after they bought it, and they were both smart enough to grab their money and get out.
Unfortunately, investing in any cryptocurrency is just like gambling. Be wary of investing money you can’t afford to lose. And this is especially true if you buy it with credit cards. Many banks in Canada and the US won’t honour cryptocurrency credit card purchases. Canadians who want to use their TD Bank credit cards to purchase cryptocurrency are out of luck. Toronto Dominion Bank just announced that they would no longer allow this. In the US, Capitol One blocked their customers from using their credit cards to buy Bitcoin. Citigroup and Bank of America still allow purchases, but they are revisiting their policies, so this might not last.
If you want to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and others, do your homework. If the bank that issued your credit card won’t verify your purchase, the transaction won’t go through.
Why Are Banks Prohibiting Cryptocurrency Credit Card Purchases?
According to the Wall Street Journal, 18% of Bitcoin purchases are made with credit cards. Of these, 22% don’t pay off their statements. They often wait until the price of the cryptocurrency rises and say they’ll use this profit to pay off their debt. Banks worry that people will purchase more than they can pay back and that if the value of the cryptocurrency drops, they won’t have enough money to cover their credit card debt.
Credit Cards and Exchanges That You Can Try
If you decide to make a purchase, Coinbase, a widely used currency exchange accepts Visa and MasterCard for a 3.99% fee. Bitstamp and CEX IO do as well. If you want to use an American Express card, try going to Coinmama (however they charge a 5% transaction fee). You should also know that American Express limits cryptocurrency purchases to $200 a day, and $1,000 a month.
Investing Is Like a Ride on a Rollercoaster
Bitcoin’s value has increased over 300 percent since the start of 2017. In the middle of December 2017, it was valued at over USD 19K per coin. However, just a few days after it peaked, it dropped below USD 14K. Today (3 months later) it’s down to USD 10,670. If you bought at the top, you’re hurting today. Welcome to the world of crypto volatility.
Purchasing any cryptocurrency comes with risks. Many have made a lot of money, and many have lost a lot of money. When considering a purchase, only invest money you can afford to lose.
I must admit that after my relative made so much money on Bitcoin that I decided to invest a small amount myself. My husband advised against it (he trains executive bankers in negotiation strategies and is on the faculty of two renown US banking schools). But, I didn’t listen, and as it turns out, I wasn’t as lucky as my family member. To this day, I’m still waiting to recoup my losses. Who knows how long I’ll need to wait, or if I’ll ever get this money back. Don’t get burned like I did.
The “Wild West” of Cryptocurrency Investing
Bill Gates gives us his “two cents” on cryptocurrency investing:
The main feature of cryptocurrencies is their anonymity. I don’t think this is a good thing. The Government’s ability to find money laundering and tax evasion and terrorist funding is a good thing. Right now, cryptocurrencies are used for buying fentanyl and other drugs, so it is a rare technology that has caused deaths in a fairly direct way. I think the speculative wave around ICOs and cryptocurrencies is super risky for those who go long.
He believes that these markets will eventually be shut down. However, he did reveal that his daughter invested in Bitcoin.
Now, entire governments like China and South Korea are prohibiting cryptocurrency trading. South Korea bans foreigners and minors from trading. According to Kang Young-soo of the Financial Services Commission cryptocurrency response team:
The government is concerned about manipulation of market conditions and injection of illegal funds while market funds are leaked into speculative investments. We view that foreigners’ and minors’ investments contribute to our areas of concern.
Much of South Korean’s concern stems from the fact that Chinese investors have flooded their cryptocurrency market since China banned cryptocurrency trading. The digital coins from China enter Korean exchanges where they are illegally changed into foreign currencies and sent back to China.
This hasn’t stopped Chinese investors from trading in cryptocurrencies. Hundreds of millions of dollars were raised in the banned Initial Coin Offering (ICO) market. It seems Chinese investors are buying cryptocurrencies in offshore accounts and investing them in start-ups. They do this to bypass the rigorously regulated capital-raising process required by venture capitalists or banks. Over USD 3.2 billion was raised via ICOs in 2017.
The good news is that the ICO industry is working to develop standards for a compliant framework for their projects like the SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) to help navigate US laws.
Canadians Mining Bitcoin?
Even though the Canadian banks are trying to shut down bitcoin trading (at least via credit cards), Canada is quickly becoming a powerhouse for Bitcoin mining. Several regions across the country such as Quebec, Manitoba, and British Columbia have all seen an increase in attention from Bitcoin mining firms. This is the infrastructure of Bitcoin. Miners use computing power to identify a sequence of data called a “block.” But it’s relatively useless until they use a Bitcoin hash algorithm (a converter) to match a block, where they then receive a particular number of bitcoins. The Bitcoin hash that’s created is stored with the block at the end of the blockchain where it validates the block and the transaction.
Cryptocurrency Funds
According to an article in Forbes Magazine, ICOs may be cooling down, but cryptocurrencies are here to stay. Worries about China’s banning of trading has put a damper on the ICO market. But this isn’t keeping the blockchain and crypto community at bay. There are other ways to make money on cryptocurrencies – funds for example. Coinbase recently launched an index fund for digital currencies. Ameritrade and other trading sites offer cryptocurrency funds like GBTC (Bitcoin Investment Trust).
Be Smart. Be Wary.
The cryptocurrency and ICO markets have grown rapidly and are constantly changing. They comprise local, national and international products and participants. Before you invest, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suggests you ask these questions:
Is the product legal? Is it subject to regulation, including rules designed to protect investors? Does the product comply with those rules?
Is the offering legal? Are those offering the product licensed to do so?
Are the trading markets fair? Can prices on those markets be manipulated? Can I sell when I want to?
Are there substantial risks of theft or loss, including from hacking?
In Conclusion
Don’t be like me and get burned by the Crypto Craze. Do your research first and take a deep breath before “jumping into the trading pool”. As you can see, it “ebbs and flows” from many underlying currents.
by Felicien | Mar 23, 2018 | Education
The recent surge in cyber theft and hacking has everyone worried. With each new cyber breach, consumers realize just how vulnerable we all are. After the Equifax hack of September 2017, state legislatures began proposing new laws that would tighten data security.
For those working with an MSP, the burden often falls on them to increase security so that breaches simply don’t take place. Though this concept is good in theory, MSP’s sometimes struggle to find the right balance between convenience and stronger security for cyberspace.
New Proposed Legislation
The American Bankers Association believes that during 2018, at least half of all states will develop tougher data breach laws for the financial services industry. One of these bills receiving more attention originates in New York, the home of many prominent financial institutions. Experts believe the new bills being developed for New York could become a model for other financial providers. These bills could even affect federal laws.
The new legislation will be designed to stop the onslaught of huge, expensive data breaches, such as JP Morgan Chase, Sony Pictures, and Equifax. Many believe this type of legislation is way overdue.
The bill being developed by legislatures in New York is called the “Stop Hacks and Improve Data Security Act” (SHIELD Act). It will require that any organization that handles financial or sensitive information produce clear examples of their safeguards. It would also require all banks, credit reporting agencies, brokerages and insurance providers to develop better security measures. In addition, the new laws will apply to anyone who deals with the personal financial information of consumers.
The bill will contain phrases like “clear examples of safeguards” that force organizations to provide proof of their security measures. Many experts believe these “safeguards” might include all administrative, technical and physical security measures taken by any company that deals with the private information of New Yorkers.
Though MSPs are already gearing up to offer higher levels of data security to their customers, the problem of data security falls back on each financial services company. Consumers are outraged when corporations the size of JP Morgan Chase and Equifax don’t take data security seriously enough. This outrage can spawn expensive lawsuits.
Keys to Success
Though MSPs will begin offering more robust data security plans, it’s important to remember that the burden falls back on each business. In this day and age, you simply can’t rely on a third-party vendor; the stakes are too high. Your company could be sued by anyone who loses their personal and banking info to hackers. For this reason, most businesses have a small team of IT pros on premises that communicate regularly with their MSP.
Your own IT department should be fully engaged with your MSP. They should understand exactly what security measures have been put in place and how this system is protecting your data. They should be involved in program upgrades. They can also work inside your business to organize monthly security briefings for employees.
Consider Hiring Security Experts
Though most MSP’s offer a comprehensive group of security services to help protect your data from intrusion, many top banking, and financial institutions are going one step further. They are hiring security experts whose only job is to ensure that all data is safe and secure from hackers. Companies that specialize in providing data security plans follow a strict regimen of protocols. They conduct regular security risk assessments. Their team will come out to your company on a regular basis to train employees. And this is so important to your overall security plan working.
Risky employee behavior is responsible for over half the data breaches. Every day in companies all over the world, employees make mistakes that could spell disaster. They commonly share passwords, ignore prompts to install patches, click on suspicious links in emails, and use weak passwords. Employees need better training in order to know and remember to utilize all company data breach policies.
Are You Doing Enough to Stop Hackers?
Though many MSP’s are fully up to date on the policies and procedures for greater cybersecurity protection, it’s important to decide for yourself whether their security measures are strong enough. If your company handles the financial information or healthcare information of others, basic data security programs may not be enough.
Ransomware attacks are on the rise. Cyber thieves break into your system and hold your data hostage until you pay the ransom. Many company owners are not sure whether their data is safe from these attacks. The days when anti-virus programs and firewalls were adequate to protect data are over. Your company will require the highest level of protection in order to remain safe. Remember that cybercriminals never rest. They’re always on the lookout for new ways to steal names, addresses, and banking information.
The Revolution in Technology
Today’s cloud technology allows everyone to take their work with them wherever they go. In addition, consumers can access that information on a laptop, phone, or iPad. Though all these new advancements in technology are fun and convenient, they do present a unique challenge for security experts. Regular security risk assessments can determine whether your employees are leaving important data right out in the open for criminals to find.
HIPAA guidelines require that a normal SRA include a basic inventory of where and how sensitive data is being used. These assessments are available for financial institutions as well. They are a great way to get the big picture about how sensitive data is transmitted, stored and accessed, whether using email, text messages or mobile devices. Most security experts believe that a comprehensive Security Risk Assessment is a great place to start.
Better Documentation
Lastly, good solid documentation of all security policies is required. All employees should know and understand the security policies and procedures used by their employer. Each software upgrade should be documented. Any events that might affect your organization’s data security should be documented as well. Any time an employee is terminated, your company should have a very specific procedure that it follows to avoid an angry employee from stealing data.
Changing the Way We Do Business
The new cybersecurity laws may change the way we all do business each day. Though some of these laws will be cumbersome and inconvenient, the alternative is much worse. It’s important to remember that the new cybersecurity legislation is meant to protect us from hackers and data loss. Consumers want to go back to feeling safe again when they do business online. And that’s the goal of these new laws.
Whether you decide to select security experts who have the skills and tools to address all types of data breaches or continue on with your MSP, the game has to change in order to stop hacking and cyber crimes. Each employee should feel personally responsible for doing their best to protect data. Your MSP and IT department must work together to build the strongest fortress possible for your sensitive information.
by Felicien | Mar 23, 2018 | Education
Are you certain that your healthcare workers understand the risks to your PHI and other confidential information? A clinic in Baltimore thought theirs did, but they were proven wrong when they discovered their patient records were up for sale on the Dark Web.
In 2016, a Baltimore substance abuse treatment facility was hacked. Their patient records ended up on the Dark Web, according to DataBreaches.net. Information such as dates of admission, what patients were taking methadone, and what their dosing requirements were, along with the names of doctors and counselors were exposed to cybercriminals.
The prominent Washington University School of Medicine learned about a phishing incident on January 24, 2017, when an employee responded to a phishing attack on December 2, 2016. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) said that 80,270 individuals might have been affected.
“This phishing scam allowed some of Washington University School of Medicine’s patient data to potentially be accessed, the school reported on its website. The accessed employee email accounts may have included names, birth dates, medical record numbers, diagnosis and treatment information, other clinical information, and Social Security numbers in some cases.”
Texas-based Urology Austin, PLLC revealed that they experienced a ransomware attack on January 22, 2017. Within minutes of the attack, they shut down their computer network. However, OCR reported that 279,663 individuals’ private data might have been affected.
They immediately took steps to restore the affected data and their operations. A Urology Austin representative told local news that they didn’t pay the ransom and that they were able to restore the patient information from a backup.
The odds that a data breach can happen to your healthcare organization have greatly increased.
Why? Because healthcare workers generally lack cybersecurity awareness. The following are some alarming statistics:
24% of healthcare workers lack awareness about phishing emails as compared to 8% in non-healthcare sectors
Only 18% of healthcare employees were able to recognize phishing emails. Physicians were 3 times worse at it.
88% of healthcare workers opened phishing emails.
50% of doctors were in the “risk” category, making them likely to commit a serious data breach.
Healthcare employees exhibited less knowledge about cybersecurity than the larger population.
24% of physicians couldn’t identify the common signs of malware.
30% of healthcare workers took risks that put the safety of patient records at risk.
23% failed to recognize forms of malware.
18% chose the wrong actions when they were given scenarios to respond to. Many thought it was okay to share patient data via their personal email accounts or over insecure cloud platforms.
The high costs of a lack of cybersecurity awareness
The Identity Theft Resource Center revealed that there were 1,091 breaches in 2016 that affected 15 million records from hospitals, dental clinics, senior care facilities, and others. This is a 40 percent increase from the previous year. As a result, the Dark Web is flooded with “fullz” (full packages of personally identifiable information) as well as patient insurance information.
Healthcare hacking and IT incidents accounted for the majority of large-scale incidents in 2017.
According to the 2017 Cost of a Data Breach Study: Global Overview, healthcare data breach costs are the highest for the seventh straight year. Data breaches from healthcare organizations cost $380 per record. This is greater than 2.5 times the global average in other industries.
The Answer
It’s obvious from this data that healthcare entities are not properly educated and prepared to defend themselves against sophisticated hacking attempts today. From these statistics, you can see that these organizations are at risk of HIPAA noncompliance.
Your first layer of defense is your employees. They require professional security awareness training that includes both privacy awareness and demonstrations on how to recognize phishing attempts and what to do if they receive one.
It’s only through ongoing security awareness training that you can keep your healthcare employees apprised of the latest sophisticated threats, how to mitigate them and what to do protect your organization from severe, negative consequences.
Beyond ensuring that your PHI and other confidential data is secure and protected at all times, you must provide security awareness training that’s conducted by a professional who understands PHI and what healthcare employees need to know.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, employee cybersecurity awareness training should meet the following four objectives:
Develop and demonstrate foundational-level knowledge of cybersecurity.
Employ best practices to protect privacy and safeguard Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).
Recognize cyber threats to information systems.
Identify and report potential cybersecurity and privacy incidents promptly.
Don’t Become Another Statistic.
5 More Tips to Keep in Mind:
Regular and Recurring Security Training Is Essential.
Hackers are constantly developing new, sophisticated methods to trick your employees into clicking on malicious links and downloading dangerous software. For this reason, it’s critical that your employees stay up to date on the very latest security threats and how to avoid them. Additionally, refresher training will keep them on their toes and save you a lot of worries.
KISS (Keep It Simple and Secure)
If the security measures you teach are complicated and difficult to follow, your employees won’t remember them. Instruction should be clear and concise with ways for employees to easily remember your policies and rules. This is another reason why it’s always best to defer to IT professionals to train your staff.
Your Employees Need to Know How to Respond to Security Incidents.
Along with teaching your staff how to avoid security incidents, they should be aware of how to appropriately respond to them. What should they do if they come across a malicious attachment or link? What should they do if they accidentally click on one? Make sure they know what to do and who to contact.
Teach Your Employees about Cybersecurity for Their Personal Use.
It’s also important to teach your healthcare staff about network security for their personal purposes, such as when purchasing items online or what to do if they receive phishing emails on their personal accounts. They should also know how to protect their personal information on your organization’s network.
Make Sure Security Support is Easily Accessible.
Ensure your staff knows where to go if they have security questions or concerns. Your IT Managed Services Provider (MSP) will have a 24/7 Help Desk for support and assistance with these concerns or anything regarding technology. Plus, if an employee does come across a ransomware attempt, your MSP can intervene remotely to remove any malware and ensure your PHI and confidential data remains secure.
