In today’s modern workplace, mobile devices are ubiquitous. They offer a kind of convenience that was once unimaginable but also present some unique challenges. These often come in the form of security threats. While policies that help mitigate threats are important, developing and delivering training for employees on mobile device security should always be a part of your team’s overall strategy.
If you’re ready to learn more about mobile device security training, we’ve got all the information you need; just read on.
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Read the complete guide on securing data for mobile devices
Why is Mobile Devices Security Training Important?
It’s hard to understate the impact of mobile devices on workplaces across the globe. Just two decades ago, the idea of implementing enterprise-wide policies toward the regulation of mobile devices sounded far-fetched and unnecessary. Today, though, mobile devices are an integral part of everyday operations for millions of businesses.
By 2024, mobile workers will account for around 60% of the total U.S. workforce. This puts mobile devices on the frontlines for both daily worker activity and the battle against data breaches. While teams can implement robust security measures and policies to counteract a broad selection of threats, the fact is that the end-user plays an essential role in keeping secure data safe.
The majority of attacks usually leverage some sort of vulnerability. Those vulnerabilities sometimes aren’t within the mobile devices themselves but rather the end-user’s actions. Common threats include:
- Social engineering attacks like phishing
- Malware threats
- Lost or stolen devices
While policies can help mitigate these threats, end-user behavior is the biggest factor in keeping secure data safe. Take phishing, for example. Around 75% of organizations surveyed in research done by Proofpoint experienced a phishing attack in 2020. Phishing attacks come in a few different forms, including email and SMS attacks, but they all leverage the same weak point — the end-user.
Even the most robust set of mobile device security policies can’t mitigate the threat of phishing. The only real way to prevent this common threat is to train and educate employees to spot malicious messages before they fall prey to the trap.
What Does a Robust Training Schedule Look Like?
To truly get the most out of your mobile device security policy means giving employees the right information when they need it most. Since many attacks focus on end-user errors, ensuring that everyone on staff understands the importance of security best practices is essential to keeping data safe in any secure environment. But how can an organization accomplish this?
First, the main goal of training shouldn’t be boring your employees with loads of unnecessary information. The goal should be to shift the culture surrounding mobile devices in the workplace. This is especially the case for bring your own device (BYOD) policies that further blur the line between work and personal devices.
Training should help illustrate the importance of security. Ensure that your team understands the risks inherent in mobile devices. Protection should feel like everyone’s responsibility — because it is. Try to put your team in the shoes of an attacker. What would make their job easier? What kind of data are they after? Shifting perspective can be an effective tool to help cement best practices into workplace culture.
As threats evolve and change, so will your policies surrounding mobile device use. Implementing a regular training schedule can help your team meet threats head-on and keep them up to date on what security measures are in place.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Employee Training
When dealing with the human variable, it's best to try and meet your team halfway. Again, the goal shouldn’t be to finish the training but rather to change the way employees interact with their mobile devices. To do this might mean implementing different training methods and strategies.
First, it may be beneficial to perform targeted training on workers in risk-prone environments. You can also extend this type of training to individuals whose behavior an attacker might target — like a tendency to open up suspicious emails.
Here are a few more tips to help you get the most out of employee security training:
- Deliver your training in manageable and small sessions instead of one big one.
- Try to work in small groups.
- Role-playing and gamification can help employees retain information.
- Ensure that content is relatable and not too dry
- Use multiple learning methods to meet diverse learning needs.
Policies That Help Inform Training
Often, it will be security policies that inform training content and style. For example, if your team is working with a BYOD deployment, training will most likely include elements that help end-users navigate application threats. With other security policies, like a corporate-owned business only (COBO), IT admins can set whitelisting and other app permission controls that help mitigate the risks of malware.
This might mean your team won’t need a full course on how to spot malicious apps. It will still be important to help them understand the risks, but with a security policy in place that regulates which apps users can download and use, it’s not as big of a threat.
Taking a risk assessment of your current security structure is essential to developing a thorough education plan for your team.
Keeping Devices Safe with Archon Mobile
Developing and delivering training for employees on mobile device security will always play an upfront role in security policies. Even with the best policies intact, threats will always find a way to creep into organizations.
With Archon Mobile, your team can operate with the highest level of security without sacrificing convenience. Our platform offers enterprise-level security packed into a usable form factor. To learn more about Archon Mobile, contact us today.
