At Bob’s Business, we’re always popping up at events to share our knowledge, get the next generation involved and speak to potential clients. It’s a busy schedule that means, no matter where you are, you’re never too far away from a member of our team. 

We regularly share where we’ll be on our social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), but this page is our new permanent home for those looking for our complete schedule. 

Here’s where Bob’s Business will be this month and beyond:

April 2024

UK Cyber Week, April 17-18, Olympia London

The Bob’s Business team will be exhibiting at UK Cyber Week in Olympia London, introducing our award-winning products and services to companies both large and small. Come visit us at stand H13!

No matter how much you spend on complex hardware and software cybersecurity solutions, they can’t account for the source of 90% of successful breaches: your staff.

Cybercriminals utilise dozens of proven psychological techniques to encourage your staff to give them access to your and your organisation’s data and (in many cases) physical premises. We in the cybersecurity profession refer to these techniques as ‘social engineering’.

But what is social engineering, how do social engineering attacks work, and what are the types of social engineering? Join us as we present our essential guide, updated for 2023.

What is social engineering?

Social engineering is a term that covers a wide variety of attacks that leverage human vulnerability to gain access to sensitive information.

With the risk of being targeted by social engineers growing greater by the day, we must fully understand the different types of social engineering attacks and how best to avoid them.

How do social engineering attacks work?

Whether we like to admit it or not, we’re all creatures of habit.

Modern life is an almost constant blur of mundane tasks and activities. Naturally, we all want to find the easiest and fastest way to accomplish those tasks.

Unfortunately, that often means that we’re lax about security.

Simple things like using the same password across multiple accounts can make your life easier, but it leaves the door wide open to social engineers.

Social engineers find the gaps in our security habits and utilise emotional manipulation techniques to access sensitive information.

How is shoulder surfing used?

Shoulder surfing enables social engineers to see what services you use, your contacts, and most importantly, your passwords. After making a note of these, the shoulder surfer can then try to access your systems remotely or even impersonate you to gain access to confidential information.

Social engineering attacks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but the three most common ones to watch out for are:

Examples of social engineering

Social engineering attacks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but the five most common ones to watch out for are:

Phishing

Phishing attacks are a common form of social engineering that involves sending fake emails or texts, often claiming to be from a legitimate company or individual, to trick the recipient into revealing sensitive information such as login credentials or financial information.

To avoid falling victim to a phishing attack, it is important to be cautious of unsolicited communication and verify the sender’s identity before clicking on any links or providing personal information. You can also protect yourself by using spam filters and keeping your security software up to date.

A more advanced form of phishing is called spear phishing. This is when a social engineer goes the extra mile to tailor the email to their target after conducting extensive research on, or data-mining, their target. This results in more effective phishing attempts, which are harder to spot.

Baiting

Baiting is another form of social engineering that involves offering something desirable, such as a free gift or access to ‘exclusive’ content, in order to lure the victim into revealing sensitive information or performing a specific action.

To avoid falling for a baiting scam, it is important to be sceptical of anything that seems too good to be true and to be cautious of offers that require you to provide personal information or take specific actions.

Scareware

Scareware is a type of social engineering that involves tricking the victim into believing that their computer has a serious problem, such as a virus, and offering a solution for a fee. The “solution” is often unnecessary or ineffective, and the victim is scammed out of their money.

To avoid falling victim to scareware, it is vital to be aware of the signs of this type of scam, such as unexpected pop-up windows or warning messages, and to be cautious of any offer to fix a problem for a fee.

Pretexting

Pretexting is a form of social engineering that involves creating a fake identity or scenario to obtain sensitive information from the victim.

This can involve pretending to be a representative of a legitimate company or government agency to obtain personal information such as a social security number or bank account information.

To avoid falling victim to pretexting, stay cautious of anyone who asks for personal information and to verify the identity of the person before providing any sensitive information.

Impersonation

Impersonation is a type of social engineering involving pretending to be someone else to gain access to restricted areas or information.

This can involve pretending to be a co-worker, a maintenance worker, or someone else with legitimate access to gain entry to a secure area or obtain sensitive information.

Avoiding falling victim to impersonation isn’t easy, but by maintaining an awareness of your surroundings and being cautious of anyone who does not have proper identification or seems out of place you can increase your chances.

It is also a good idea to verify the identity of anyone who claims to be a co-worker or representative of a company before providing any sensitive information or allowing them access to restricted areas.

Is tailgating a form of social engineering?

Yes! The purpose of tailgating (also known as piggybacking) is to gain access to an unauthorised area.

Typically, this is achieved by an unauthorised person following closely behind an authorised individual and getting the authorised individual to give them access.

This might include following someone into a lift requiring a security key, often with some excuse like holding a large delivery or simply forgetting their key.

Social engineers rely on people’s instinct to be helpful, so the next time you open the door to someone you don’t recognise, don’t be afraid to question them.

What is Shoulder Surfing?

Shoulder surfing is another physical form of social engineering that criminals use to gather information. When people work on the go, they lull themselves into a false sense of security and don’t realise they could be being watched.

Criminals will look to identify people who work on the go either on their laptop or phone, follow them to a place that they might like to work, like a coffee shop, and get into a position where they can see what’s on the screen.

Is social engineering a cybersecurity threat?

While social engineering may seem simple, it represents a significant cybersecurity threat to organisations. While companies continue to invest in technological solutions to stay secure, they don’t fix the vulnerabilities social engineers look to exploit – people’s behaviour, habits and emotions.

Suppose a user is tricked into revealing details that can help an attacker through your defences, or tricked into allowing someone unauthorised access. In that case, all the technology in the world would be unable to help you!

Real-life examples of social engineering attacks

Marriott International

In 2018, the hotel company Marriott International reported that its subsidiary Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ reservation system had been breached, exposing the personal information of up to 500 million visitors. The hackers had gained access to the system by using social engineering tactics to obtain login credentials from an employee at a third-party vendor.

The attack began in 2014 and went undetected for four years. During that time, the hackers used the access they had gained to the system to collect guests’ personal information, including names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, passport numbers, and payment card information. The breach was only discovered in 2018 when Marriott received an alert from an internal security tool.

The attack was a sophisticated example of social engineering, as the hackers had been able to gain the trust of an employee at a vendor and obtain sensitive login credentials through seemingly legitimate means.

Hackers often use social engineering tactics to target employees at companies or organisations that have access to sensitive information, as these employees may have weaker security protocols in place and may be more likely to fall for scams or phishing attacks.

DHL

Another example of a social engineering attack in the UK occurred in 2018, when hackers targeted the courier company DHL Supply Chain. The hackers used ‘pretexting’ to obtain login credentials from an employee at the company and used those credentials to access the company’s systems. Once inside the system, the hackers were able to steal sensitive customer information, including names, addresses, and payment card details.

The attack was discovered when DHL received reports from customers that they had received spam emails claiming to be from the company. Upon investigation, DHL discovered that the hackers had gained access to its systems and had been able to collect customer information. The company promptly notified affected customers and implemented additional security measures to prevent further breaches.

This attack was a reminder of the importance of strong security protocols and the need to be vigilant against social engineering attacks. It is essential for companies and organisations to educate their employees about the risks of social engineering and to implement strong security measures to protect against these types of attacks.

LinkedIn
In 2016, the social media giant LinkedIn announced that it had discovered that a hacker had gained access to the passwords of 117 million of its users.

The hacker had used social engineering tactics to obtain an employee’s login credentials at LinkedIn and then used those credentials to access the user data. The data was later sold on the dark web, and many LinkedIn users reported that they had received spam emails or had their accounts compromised as a result of the breach.

The attack was a sophisticated example of social engineering, as the hacker had been able to gain an employee’s trust at LinkedIn and obtain sensitive login credentials through seemingly legitimate means.

In this case, the hacker had used a phishing attack to obtain an employee’s login credentials and then used those credentials to access the user data.

The attack was discovered when LinkedIn received reports from a number of users that they were receiving spam emails that appeared to be coming from their LinkedIn accounts. Upon investigation, LinkedIn discovered that the hacker had gained access to the passwords of a large number of its users.

The attack was a reminder of the importance of strong security protocols and the need to be vigilant against social engineering attacks. With sufficient cybersecurity awareness training, attacks like this can be prevented.

How to defend against social engineering attacks

Defence against social engineers largely depends on awareness and ensuring that you and your workforce know what to be wary of.

Even the very best security technology can be overcome by a clever social engineer, which is why security awareness training is so essential.

Teaching your staff about the dangers of social engineering with engaging, jargon-free training is the most effective way of protecting your organisation.

To help you safeguard against some of these attacks, your staff should:

• Adopt a suspicion-first mindset
• Complete training to learn spot the signs of phishing emails
• Maintain a clear desk
• Understand your organisation’s privacy policies
• Protect themselves from malware through awareness
• Treat any offers or requests from unknown people with suspicion

You’re probably most familiar with malware from its regular appearances in the news, typically in relation to big organisations falling victim to it. Just last year, computing giant Nvidia were the victims of a ransomware attack that exposed its data to the world, costing the firm untold sums.

But do you really know what malware is? Join us as we dig into what malware is, the types of malware, how to spot malware and how to prevent malware on your home or work network. 

What is Malware?

Malware (a contraction of malicious software) is a term used to describe any software that does unwanted things on your computer or device. It can take many forms, from viruses and worms to Trojan horses and ransomware, and can be spread through various means, including email attachments, malicious websites, and infected storage devices.

These nasties can include slowing your CPU, performing tasks of their own or locking your computer down and demanding a ransom. Some can also track your activities and steal sensitive data, such as passwords and files.

What are the types of malware?

Some variations of malware are:

Viruses

Computer viruses are malicious programs that can cause a lot of damage to your computer and the data stored on it. They can spread quickly and silently without user awareness, making them particularly dangerous. They can corrupt data, delete data, or even take control of a computer, allowing hackers to access personal information or even gain access to a computer’s operating system. This can lead to identity theft, financial loss, or even the destruction of a computer.

To protect yourself, it’s important to have a good anti-virus program installed and to keep it updated regularly. Additionally, be careful when downloading files or clicking on links in emails, and make sure you have a secure, up-to-date firewall in place. Taking these steps can help protect you from computer viruses’ potential dangers.

Worms

Worms are a particularly common form of malware that spreads via operating system vulnerabilities. The most common way that a worm does its damage is by overloading web servers and using up bandwidth.

They are also capable of carrying ‘payloads’, which are bits of code included to commit certain actions, such as creating botnets, stealing data or deleting files.

Worms are quite similar to viruses. However, there are a number of differences. The main distinguishing factor is that while viruses require user action to spread (running a program, opening a file, using a USB stick), worms often spread by mass-mailing themselves to contacts or similar.

Ransomware

Ransomware has seen plenty of exposure in recent years, owing mainly to the massive ‘Wannacry’ attack. This type of malware can literally hold a device and its contents hostage, while demanding a ransom to release your data.

Ransomware does this by encrypting a hard drive and displaying a message demanding the user pays a ransom to unlock the device. Ransomware often spreads just like worms, usually arriving in the form of a network vulnerability or downloaded file.

Adware

As the name suggests, this form of malware is designed to display unwanted advertisements; this includes pop-up ads and ads shown in the software.

Many free or compromised versions of software come bundled with adware, as it is used to generate revenue for advertisers. Often, adware is backed up by spyware (see below) or other malware to track your activities and steal your data, making it more dangerous than it might seem.

Spyware

This is malware that secretly monitors, records and sends your activities to a server or malicious attacker.

The types of information typically gathered by spyware include websites visited, system information, location and login credentials. Sometimes spyware has the capability to modify network, system and application security settings too.

Perhaps the most common types of spyware are keyloggers. They can infect a device and track your keyboard activity, sending copies of your usernames, passwords, bank details and more to criminals. For more, read our complete guide to keyloggers.

Browser Jacking

Browser-jacking malware is closely related to adware. It modifies your browser, ads toolbars, search engine & homepages and can add desktop shortcuts.

This malware can also redirect you to malicious sites and download adware and spyware.

Rootkit

A rootkit is designed to remotely control or access a computer without the user’s knowledge.

Once a rootkit is installed, its malicious owner can execute software, steal data, modify the system or change software (including any software that might have been able to detect the malware). In short, rootkit malware gives somebody else complete control.

This level of secrecy means you may be unable to find or remove a rootkit using typical security software. Consequently, detection and removal rely on manual methods such as monitoring for irregular behaviour.

Trojan

Trojan malware gets its name from the Greek tale of the Trojan horse. Trojans are programs that are disguised as legitimate files or software in an attempt to trick users into downloading malware.

Once a Trojan is installed, a malicious party can control the device remotely. When the attacker has access to an infected computer, they can monitor user activity, change files and settings, steal data or install more malware.

Bot

Bots are generally created to perform non-malicious tasks automatically. However, they are increasingly being used for more malicious purposes. Specifically, bots are being deployed in botnets, as spambots, web spiders scraping server data, and distributing malware on download sites.

Bots are the reason CAPTCHA tests exist, as they cannot usually pass this test without human input.

How to spot malware

Your first port of call in spotting malware should be your antivirus software. Running an up-to-date version of an antivirus scanner on a regular basis is vital in finding malware.

However, malware can appear between these scans, and can even evade them, so keep an eye out for the following symptoms:

• Files changing, moving, or being deleted
• Slow computer or network speeds
• Increased system resource usage
• Programs running, turning off or reconfiguring themselves (malware particularly likes to reconfigure antivirus software and firewalls)
• Strange files or programs appearing
• Messages or emails being sent automatically without you sending them
• Any other strange behaviour you do not expect to see from your device

How to protect your organisation against ransomware

To protect yourself and your organisation against malware, it is important to implement a combination of technical and non-technical measures. Some key steps to take include:

1. Install and regularly update antivirus software: Antivirus software is designed to detect and remove malware from a computer. You can help protect your computer against new and emerging threats by installing and regularly updating antivirus software.
2. Be cautious when opening email attachments and links: Email is one of the most common ways malware spreads. Be wary of opening attachments or clicking on links from unknown sources, and always scan any attachments with antivirus software before opening them.
3. Use a firewall: A firewall is a security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. Using a firewall can block malicious traffic and help protect your computer from malware.
4. Enable automatic updates: Many software programs, including operating systems, offer automatic updates that can help protect against security vulnerabilities and malware. Be sure to enable these updates to ensure that your software is always up to date.
5. Use strong passwords: Strong passwords are a key defence against malware and other cyber threats. Use complex, unique passwords for all your online accounts, and consider using a password manager to help generate and store strong passwords.

Here are some of Bob’s top tips:

• Don’t engage with emails from unknown sources
• Be careful with physical media; don’t plug in flash drives or discs from unknown sources
• Only download software and open attachments from trustworthy and reputable sources
• Don’t open attachments from personal emails on work computers, as you are creating a potential security threat to your organisation
• Don’t just ignore emails you suspect to contain viruses; always contact your IT department, as they can then inform the rest of your organisation
• Keep your operating system, antivirus software and browser up to date
• If a link or email looks dodgy, don’t click it!

Cybersecurity is a vast sector incorporating countless aspects of offline and online vulnerabilities. More than that, it affects everyone, from businesses and not-for-profit organisations to individuals in their everyday lives.

From the outside, it can seem like an overly complex topic, especially for those who aren’t tech-savvy. One of the biggest barriers to entry is the sheer amount of jargon, acronyms and terminology that can overcomplicate cybersecurity and make people switch off towards the subject.

That’s why we’ve put together this helpful guide to help you break down cybersecurity terminology into something easy for you and your staff to understand.

Let’s get started.

Cybersecurity jargon buster

What is an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)?

In most organisations, an acceptable use policy is a set of guidelines outlined by an organisation that states how employees are supposed to use its resources and equipment.

What are Access Controls?

Access controls are a security method that manages and controls who or what is allowed to access a computer system or restricted area. It identifies who should have access and verifies details to decide whether to grant or deny access.

What is an Antivirus?

An antivirus is a type of software program that scans for and removes malware from devices.

What is a Botnet?

A Botnet is a network of compromised computers or computer systems, sometimes called a ‘Zombie Network’.

To create a malicious botnet, a cybercriminal will simultaneously compromise several computers and instruct them to run automated systems on the systems.

This can then be used to spread viruses, launch phishing campaigns or crash web servers.

What is a Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policy?

A policy that allows employees to use personal devices instead of company devices to connect to an organisation’s network and access business applications and data.

What is a Clear Desk Policy?

A Clear Desk Policy directs all staff members to maintain a clean working space throughout the day and file everything appropriately.

A clear desk policy can include more than just making sure your physical desk is clear; it can also include your computer, requesting that all files are locked away in secure folders within your PC subsystem and that your computer is locked when you leave it unattended.

What is a Data Breach?

A Data Breach is a security incident in which your sensitive, private and often valuable data is stolen, viewed or used by an unauthorised individual. Breaches can involve anything from financial records to corporate intellectual property and represent one of the biggest threats to organisations.

What is a Data Subject?

A data subject is any individual whose personal data is being collected, held or processed.

What is the Dark Web?

Encrypted web content which isn’t indexed by search engines or accessible through standard web browsers. Users need specialised software to access the dark web, like the Invisible Internet Project (I2P) or Tor browser. These browsers route user web page requests through third-party servers, hiding their IP address.

What is a DDOS Attack?

A DDOS Attack, or Distributed Denial of Service Attack, is when many computers are used to flood a targeted system. These are typically delivered by botnets and are usually global in nature, used to take down larger targets and cause widespread disruption.

What is a Digital Footprint?

A digital footprint is a unique trail of personal data every internet user leaves behind when engaging in digital activities. This data is typically publicly available and can be used to impersonate you. To learn more, why not check out our Digital Footprint course?

What is a DOS Attack?

A DOS Attack, or Denial of Service Attack, is when a single computer is used to flood a targeted system, rendering it unable to function for a period.

What is Encryption?

In computing terms, Encryption is the process of encoding data so that only authorised parties with the right decryption access can view or edit the data. This is widely used for security purposes but is also used by designers of Ransomware to lock users out of their own data.

What is a Firewall?

A network security device that filters all network traffic (incoming and outgoing) to prevent unauthorised access based on predetermined security rules. It’s important to note, however, that Firewalls must be continually updated in order to maintain effectiveness.

What is Information Confidentiality?

Certain information must be protected so only authorised individuals can access and view it. This process is known as maintaining information confidentiality.

What is the Internet of Things?

A network of physical objects with embedded sensors that connect to and exchange data over the internet in real time.

What is ISO 27001?

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 27001 is a part of the ISO 27000 family, a group of international standards for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). It helps organisations to follow best practices to mitigate cyber threats. Learn more about ISO 27001 here.

What is a Keylogger?

In its basic form, a Keylogger can either be a physical piece of hardware or software that intercepts signals from your keyboard and records every keystroke you make.

Keyloggers intercept the communication between your keyboard and computer before transmitting that information to a third party.

What is Malvertising?

Malvertising is a blend of malicious advertising. Malvertising is the practice of incorporating malware in online advertisements.

What is Malware?

Malware (a contraction of malicious software) is a term used to describe any software that does unwanted things on your computer or device.

These nasties can include slowing your CPU, performing tasks of their own or locking your computer down and demanding a ransom. Some can also track your activities and steal sensitive data, such as passwords and files. Click here for our article breaking down the types of malware.

What is Multi-factor Authentication (MFA)?

An authentication method where users must prove their identity using at least two different credential types before receiving access. This is increasingly standardised online, but may be called two-factor authentication (2FA).

What is the NIST Cybersecurity Framework?

A set of cybersecurity best practices that organisations can use to manage their security risks. The framework is voluntary guidance.

What is PCI DSS?

PCI DSS is an information security standard set out by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council to reduce fraud and increase the security around cardholder data.

The standard sets out requirements for how businesses should securely process, store, accept and transmit cardholder data during credit card transactions. To learn more about PCI DSS, click here.

What is Penetration Testing?

Known colloquially as pen testing. A simulated cyber-attack against a web application, computer system, or network. The goal of penetration testing is to find any vulnerabilities that could be exploited by threat actors and test defenders’ security posture.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is the most common tactic cybercriminals use to steal your data. At its most basic, it’s the act of creating realistic-seeming emails designed to get you to hand over your personal information.

These emails can mimic big companies, resemble an internal source or make an emotional plea. Awareness and vigilance against phishing are essential to protect your personal data and your organisation’s data.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a specific subsect of malware which holds your data to ransom by encrypting all the data on your device or system and demanding payment to return it to an unencrypted state.

Many ransomware attacks feature a countdown timer and will delete your data unless you make a payment.

What is Remote Working?

Remote working is, quite simply, the act of doing your job away from the office. Whether it’s editing information on the train or accessing your work emails at the coffee shop.

Working on the go can leave you open to dangerous threats, like social engineering and shoulder surfing.

What is a Risk Register?

A risk register is used to document all known risks and helps to keep track of them. Risk registers should include the risk impact and likelihood, response taken, and who is responsible for monitoring the risk.

What is Shoulder Surfing?

Shoulder surfing is the practice of physically spying on another user’s electronic device to obtain their personal identification number, password and any other sensitive information.

What is Smishing?

Smishing is using SMS messages that social engineers use to commit phishing attacks.

What is Social Engineering?

Social engineering covers techniques cybercriminals use to access sensitive business and personal information.

Cybercriminals can and will use a variety of methods to exploit people, from sending an email designed to make them panic to pretending that they are a new employee that has lost their pass to access unauthorised areas.

What is Spear Phishing?

Standard phishing attacks are designed to be sent to a broad range of individuals to increase the chances of landing a hit. However, some cybercriminals are interested in attacking a single client.

For this, a technique called Spear Phishing is used.

This more targeted type of phishing utilises specific details gleaned from research to create truly effective and realistic phishing emails. Sometimes the term ‘Whaling’ is used when spear-phishing targets top-level management.

What is an SSL Certificate?

SSL, or Security Socket Layer, is a widely used website security protocol that encrypts data sent between you and a website. With an SSL Certificate in place, the connection is encrypted when your web browser connects to the secured and certificated website. This protocol has replaced the TLS, or Transport Layer Security.

You can tell whether a website has an SSL certificate by checking if there’s a closed padlock icon at the left of a website’s URL.

What is Stalkerware?

Stalkerware is a class of software designed for smartphones that record your location, the websites you visit, the apps you use and virtually any other data that comes through your smartphone. It then passes that information onto an individual.

What is Tethering?

Tethering is the sharing of your phone or mobile network-capable device’s internet with your computer. This can be done wirelessly or through a wired connection. This is typically more secure than using an open public WiFi.

What is Vishing?

Vishing is the use of phone calls to conduct phishing attacks. These calls will purport to be from a legitimate source, like the Royal Mail, Amazon or your bank, but will, in fact, be scammers looking to utilise psychological principles like fear to convince you to hand over your personal information.

What is a VPN?

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a tool that makes web traffic anonymous by masking the location and encrypting traffic. VPNs are used in business to create secure channels to private servers and in the public sphere to secure browsing and access websites which are region-locked.

What is a Watering Hole Attack?

A watering hole is a website that has been infected with malware by a cybercriminal. The term comes from real-life watering holes, which are used by animals like hippos and alligators to hide in before launching attacks on unsuspecting creatures.

What is Whaling?

Whaling is a type of phishing attack that targets high-level executives. Whaling attacks typically involve complex and hard-to-spot social engineering efforts that use knowledge about an executive’s professional and personal network against them.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page in your browser so you can refer to it the next time you’re confused by some cybersecurity jargon!

No matter the scale of your organisation, compliance training is necessary to safeguard you and your organisation from legal issues further down the line.

You may have heard other organisations talk about it and even know that your company needs it, but you might need help understanding why.

Join us as we share precisely what compliance training is and answer some of your most pressing questions about compliance training.

What is compliance training?

Compliance training can cover a range of different topics, but its overall goal is to educate employees about the legal and internal policies which apply to their roles and daily activities in their position.

The main purpose of compliance training is to walk employees through ethics and regulatory issues that could arise in the workplace and train them on how to guard against them effectively.

What issues are covered by compliance training?

As we have already mentioned, compliance training can cover many essential issues in the workplace, depending on the sector you work in. In our case, for example, we offer compliance training which covers topics relating to information security, such as ISO 27001, and environmental standards, such as ISO 14001.

Other issues which often require compliance training include company policies, codes of conduct, diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, and business ethics. Certain industries, such as healthcare and finance, will have even more compliance training in place than other businesses due to the highly regulated nature of those sectors.

Why is compliance training so important?

Whilst the importance of compliance training might not be immediately apparent, we’ve all seen heavy fines levied on businesses charged with non-compliance or a breach of regulation. Avoiding those fines is the most important reason to undergo compliance training.

While no employee breaks the law knowingly – except for rare occasions – many times, a compliance issue can occur unknown to the responsible party out of lack of knowledge or understanding.

Of course, the reasons for undergoing compliance training continue beyond avoiding fines. Compliance training enables your entire organisation to work safely and efficiently from the same page, reducing confusion and friction within the business environment.

The right training ensures that your organisation remains compliant at all times and equips your employees with the knowledge needed to spot any non-compliance or potential issues they may come across in the business.

What is a compliance certification?

A compliance certification is a fully accredited document certifying that your business meets the standards demanded by the certification specifications.

What are the best practices for compliance training?

Set out clear objectives

Understanding why you must do something can often increase motivation as it’s easy to attribute results to your behaviour. Training can feel much more valuable to employees when they understand the importance of compliance training, and it can even feel like an internal competition for them.

Make training interesting

There’s no need to make your employees sit through tedious training packed with hard-to-understand jargon when there are so many good alternative methods.

eLearning can be beneficial in many ways to both you and your employees. Employees can take as many breaks as they need because the training is broken down into bite-sized modules that are easy to understand. eLearning also allows learners to finish their training whenever they are ready.

As a result, fewer people rush through because they believe their time and effort would be better spent on another project. Because only some employees learn in the same way or within the same time frame, your employees will appreciate it if you give them the option to complete their training whenever they want by a specific deadline.

Instead of handing each employee a stack of papers every year, invest in interactive scenarios and simulations that allow learners to test how they would respond in various situations via eLearning.

– Think of ways to incorporate interactive content – e.g. quizzes or games. This can be a good way to enhance learning and engage participants.

– Focus on practical applications – not the situations that are least likely to occur, but the situations in which employees are very likely to find themselves. These are the kind of scenarios that can make an impact.

– Encourage input and active discussion. To impact employee engagement, you need to engage them. Create an environment that is open, transparent and two-way.

Make compliance issues relevant to your employees

Making an employee go through a lengthy cybersecurity awareness training programme that is unrelated to their work or day-to-day responsibilities is the fastest way to lose interest and stop learning. Since your employees must receive compliance training, you must ensure that the material is relevant to keep their interest.

Ask for feedback on the training experience

Your staff want to feel like their thoughts and opinions are respected. Their excitement and motivation will decline, and you’ll probably have a higher staff turnover rate if you don’t pay attention to their suggestions and worries. Not just compliance training but entire corporate culture is affected by this.

Inquire about their opinions of the training, any changes they would make, and the overall experience. Their input enables you to continuously enhance your compliance training process and guarantee that employees benefit the most from it, which benefits the entire business.

So, how can our compliance training help your business?

We believe in making training as simple, relatable and effective as possible, and our compliance training is no different. Through our gamified training, employees never feel as though it’s a tick-box exercise that they need to get done.

Bob’s Business is your first port of call regarding cybersecurity compliance training. Offering comprehensive online training, our compliance courses can be tailored to suit both the public and private sector and can be scaled to suit businesses of any size, from small enterprises to large organisations.

To make compliance easier for staff to digest, our compliance training courses are bite-sized for a more efficient learning experience.

For more information about how we can help your business achieve compliance, get in touch with a member of our team today.