To increase their data security capabilities, international enterprises must be careful to choose the right security awareness training programs.
The digital world is a dangerous place. Every day, more cyberattackers appear on the landscape, eager to get ahold of sensitive, valuable information by any means necessary. Companies – especially large, international enterprises in every industry need to recognize this danger if they want to stay safe. After all, such companies are perceived to possess the most valuable data, making them particularly tempting targets for hackers.
Fortunately, corporate decision-makers largely recognize this need and are taking proactive steps – a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey of 500 U.S. executives found that 45 percent have increased their information security spending year over year, Forbes reported. But increasing cybersecurity spending is not necessarily enough to deliver superior protection for firms. To increase their data security capabilities, international enterprises must be careful to choose the right security awareness training programs.
“A single-language security awareness program won’t be accessible to every employee.”
Language issues
One of the most obvious – and most important – issues that any international enterprise needs to grapple with when pursuing security awareness training is the language barrier. A firm with branches in multiple countries will likely have a workforce that speaks a variety of different languages. As such, a security awareness program that exists in only one language will not be readily accessible to a significant portion of the company’s total workforce.
This is a huge issue, as only a company-wide effort can really improve overall cybersecurity posture. Endpoints represent the single greatest weakness for most networks, and so it is imperative that every employee is aware of and understands the importance of best practices in the realm of cybersecurity.
What’s more, it’s critical for enterprises to ensure their information security awareness campaigns are consistent across the board. Any gaps or differences can lead to miscommunication and missteps among employees. Just as importantly, inconsistencies will likely create weak spots in the company’s defenses which hackers and other cybercriminals may be able to take advantage of.
A major endeavor
It is also important to note that conducting a information security awareness campaign for a large, international enterprise is a major endeavor. Thousands of employees will need to receive the training, and the company must have some means of determining the effectiveness of the program.
A campaign which requires every worker to watch a 10 minute video and read a few slides may be fairly easy to distribute company-wide, but it also will fail to have much of an impact on the organization’s actual defensive capabilities. More interactive, engaging campaigns will be much more effective, but are difficult to administer to an international workforce.
Difficult, but not impossible. By choosing the right security awareness training services provider, international enterprises can develop customized, multi-language campaigns that are engaging and informative. Furthermore, a high-quality security firm will act as a true partner to the company, helping to plan the cybersecurity project, track and analyze the results and more. Such a committed approach is absolutely essential for any enterprise looking to protect its data in the coming months and years.