Malware up 4x this month

Some pretty alarming statistics came out yesterday. Malware cyber crime has quadrupled since the outbreak of the coronavirus. And as usual it is small business that is taking the brunt of the attack. They really are out out to get us. Fortunately, there’s a solution. It’s employee training.

Implement our free training

We’ve long been concerned about the technology education level of our clients and we are hoping that everyone will get on board with the necessity of regular training. This needs to take the form of security awareness and software education.

To get started we are offering our customers under monthly or fixed fee contracts with us free security training for all of their employees until September. (If you are under our quarterly contract, we can’t provide it for free but, we have a very low cost option for you. Super low, seriously affordable) Each week every employee will receive an email from Harbor-Training@bp-securityawareness.com. That email will contain a very short video 1-3 minutes long and a short quiz. If should take no more than 5 minutes of their time to complete this training. Education that drips in like this is often very effective because the student doesn’t get fatigued.

Online crimes reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) have roughly quadrupled since the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, a senior cybersecurity official said in a webinar hosted by the Aspen Institute last week.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-news/fbi-covid-19-cyberattacks-spike-400-in-pandemic/

Appoint a training champion

In order for this program to be effective employees need to know from the owner and management just how important that they participate in this training program is. If you want it to be successful, then you need to find someone to be the champion, the cheerleader, and give that person the authority to enforce participation.

Track employee training compliance

As the manager you’ll be able to log into the training portal and see which employees have completed training and which have not. Use this information to see who is taking security seriously and who is not. Consider offering a prize. Consider making the results public for everyone to see. Sometimes peer pressure can be used for good.

The number of cybersecurity complaints to the IC3 in the last four months has spiked from 1,000 daily before the pandemic to as many as 4,000 incidents in a day, said Tonya Ugoretz, the deputy assistant director of the FBI’s cyber wing, The Hill reported.

https://www.msspalert.com/cybersecurity-news/fbi-covid-19-cyberattacks-spike-400-in-pandemic/

Keep it going

Sustaining a training program, even a small one, is an effort. But once the ball gets rolling it should self-sustain. It will need you to remind your employees to continue to take the training modules as they arrive in their inbox. Keep in mind that the training is not all delivered at the same moment on the same day. They will arrive randomly for everyone throughout the work week. But by the end of the week, everyone will have received the training. This is done to prevent a flood of email, a drain on your internet speed and to help prevent the sharing of the quiz answers.

Hey Team,
 
I just took my training.  It was super educational and informative and I learned things that I had never heard of before.  And it took less than 5 minutes.  PLEASE COMPLETE THIS ASAP.  Being knowledgeable on this very REAL and THREATFUL topic will make us all safer.
 
Thank you!
 
Mark

Getting started

Please email sarah@harborcomputerservices.net and she will get your company set up. Your employees will need speakers to be able to hear the training. If they have to, they can watch the video on their mobile phone if their computer doesn’t have a headset or speakers available.

About Harbor Computer Services

Harbor Computer Services is an IT firm servicing Southeastern Michigan. We work exclusively under contract with our clients to provide technology direction and either become the IT department or provide assistance to the internal IT they already have. We have won many awards for our work over the years, including the worldwide Microsoft Partner of the Year in 2010. We’re the smallest firm to have ever won this most prestigious award. Most recently we were recognized as one of the top 20 visionaries in small business IT by ChannelPro Magazine and as the top Michigan IT firm for Manufacturing.

There are a few simple things that make Harbor Computer Services the best choice for your business. •We are Professionals •We are Responsible •We are Concerned About The Success of Your Business

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