Cybersecurity Education and Training with SARC’s Cyber Insurance Program
By Melanie Weiss, Director of Member Services/Assistant Executive Director
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month in Canada. It’s an internationally recognized campaign to help the public learn more about the importance of cyber security. This campaign helps Canadians stay secure online by teaching them simple steps to protect themselves and their devices. For more information, visit: October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM) in Canada – Get Cyber Safe
From an organizational perspective, one of the weakest points in cybersecurity is the human factor. From falling for phishing attacks to accidentally downloading malware, human error is most often the root cause of data breaches.
There are various technical controls that can be put in place to help prevent human error. Staff education and training is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk, and Coalition, our partner carrier for SARC’s Cyber Insurance Program, has two important tools to support policy-holders.
1. Security Awareness Warning
Security Awareness Training is an educational program designed to teach the following:
- What threats face your organization
- How to identify those threats
- How to prevent those threats from successfully breaching your organization
- Where employees should go for help
Security awareness training is not intended to teach your employees to be cybersecurity experts. Instead, your employees should be “aware” of the cybersecurity threats to your organization and what to do about them.
How do you Implement Security Awareness Training?
The most common approach to implementing security awareness training is the use of educational videos and presentations. However, it’s essential to understand that security awareness is something that takes place year-round – not just during a training event. Some other common training supplements include:
- Live presentations by security professionals
- Posters and other printed materials to reinforce secure practices
- Email phishing simulations
- Attending cybersecurity webinars
The intention is to go beyond a single training and to build a more security-aware culture and mindset in your organization.
How does Coalition Help?
Because of the value Security Awareness Training provides, Coalition has worked with several of the most influential training vendors to find an easy-to-use, educational, and entertaining program. All insureds receive 15 FREE licenses of Security Awareness Training from Coalition’s partner Curricula as well as a discount on additional licenses if you need them. To get started, insureds can access their Security Awareness Training benefits from their Policyholder Dashboard at any time.
2. The Coalition Knowledgebase
The Coalition Knowledgebase was developed to support insureds to run more secure businesses. In the knowledgebase, you’ll find articles and tutorials specifically designed to help insureds tackle the most common security tasks they face.
The Knowledgebase is divided into several topic areas:
- Getting Started – Learn the basic cybersecurity knowledge that all businesses should know
- Securing your Email – Learn the tools and techniques for keeping your business email safe
- Protecting your Web Applications – Learn how to protect your off-the-shelf and custom web applications from attackers
- Protecting your Domain – Learn how to protect the integrity and security of your domain name on the Internet
- Protecting Your Company from Malware – Learn about the different types of malware and what you can do to protect your business
- Understanding Security Compliance – Learn what security compliance is, where to get started, and how Coalition can help
- Technical Best Practices – Find specific security best practices from industry professionals and guidelines
Coalition is always happy to help its insureds. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out – one of their security engineers would be happy to get on the phone and help get you pointed in the right direction.
For more information on SARC’s Cyber Insurance Program, please contact the Butler Byers Team:
Hernard Chan, Lynn Cross, Caitlin Uzelman, Zabrina Stone, Doug Cummine, Kathie Cummine
Phone: (306) 653-2233 or 1-877-467-7272 (INS-SARC)
