Building a Cyber-Aware Workforce Requires Training and Ongoing Awareness

One of the most critical strategies for addressing the risks associated with a large remote workforce is to ensure that remote workers have the skills needed to identify and thwart threats. In March of this year, Fortinet launched a free training campaign to help close the cybersecurity skills gap for those individuals looking to educate themselves on potential threats and security technology. As part of this campaign, Fortinet opened up its entire library of self-paced training. This content is designed to educate teleworkers, many of whom were working from home for the first time, as well as provide opportunities for IT and security professionals to upskill or reskill for career development or advancement.

Our world is a hacker’s playground with more people than ever working remotely, opening the door to insider threats wider than ever. A Ponemon Institute Report found that from 2018 to 2020 the number of insider threats increased 47%, making these threats a top concern for CISOs and executives. In addition to having a security architecture that protects organizations from insider threats, CISOs also recognize the importance of ensuring they have a cyber-aware workforce that can detect threats. To help organizations address this, Fortinet has unveiled a new Information Security Awareness and Training service as part of the NSE Training Institute’s latest offering. 

Information Security Awareness and Training Service

As the challenges of cybercriminals targeting remote workers continues to expand, Fortinet released another free offer for organizations designed to further enhance the ability of their workforce to be cyber aware. This new Information Security Awareness and Training service will help companies better educate their workforce on how to identify and protect themselves and their organizations against all types of cybersecurity threats and to help keep security top of mind.

This new service, researched and developed by Fortinet’s NSE Training Institute—a world-class team of cybersecurity experts, is in full alignment with two key sets of NIST guidelines: NIST 800-50 , which outlines requirements for Building an Information Technology Security Awareness and Training Program, and NIST 800-16, which discusses  Information Technology Security Training Requirements.

Training and Awareness

This powerful turnkey service from Fortinet is made up of three components, each of which include both training and awareness elements. These components, outlined below, work together to ensure employees are trained to always be on the lookout for possible attacks, to know how to deal with them when they arise, and to always keep security top of mind.

Awareness Assets:

The awareness component of this training program will help organizations get an effective training program up and running smoothly within a matter of days. To start, essential elements, such as email templates, are available for Information Security teams to customize. These templates are designed to help easily launch the information security initiative. 

Additional elements include security awareness posters, monthly best-practice videos, printable tip sheets, checklists, and screen savers. These and similar elements are all ready for download to help support a comprehensive security training initiative. Such components are essential as part of an ongoing awareness program to ensure your workforce does not lose focus and make the easy mistake of falling into a hacker’s trap.

Critical Training:

The service’s training component consists of five self-paced mandatory modules that are focused on key threats and attack vectors along with best practices. These videos provide valuable information on securing digital and physical information, and all participants are quizzed to test knowledge retention. Three optional videos targeted at various roles within an organization are also included in the package to expand knowledge of the importance of information security.

Administrator Dashboard:

The administrator dashboard provides the organization with a clear overview on how they are executing on their information security awareness and training initiative. It allows the program administrator to keep track of which employees have and have not completed the required courses, ensuring compliancy with company policies. Other details like enrollment dates, progress, quiz scores, and completed modules, as well as completed times and dates are also included.

Find out more information about the Fortinet Information Security Awareness and Training service.