60% of Employees Fail Simple Cybersecurity Quiz

According to a recent research study by TalentLMS, 70% of employees say they received cyber awareness training from their employer. Although that percentage may be high, a whopping 61% of those employees failed a basic cybersecurity quiz. What’s even more fascinating is that 60% of employees who failed the quiz report that they feel safe from threats.

The chart below illustrates the various industries that were polled in this study, as well as their subsequent pass/fail rate:

From this chart, we can really see how cybersecurity knowledge varies dramatically across industries. You would think those in software or information security industries would have higher passing rates compared to healthcare, but that isn’t necessarily the case. This is despite the fact that 93% of respondents in information services receive security training, while only 63% of healthcare workers do.

If you were wondering just how difficult this cyber quiz could be, the following graphic will give you an indication:

With social engineering attacks on the rise, the results of this report is a little disheartening to hear. Knowledge of tactics hackers use to manipulate their targets, like ransomware and phishing attacks, can be a great line of defense in making sure your sensitive information isn’t compromised.

Phishing emails generally occur when a bad actor pretends to be a credible company, person (like your boss) or entity. They’ll gain access to your personal information by tricking you into thinking they’re someone else.

Ransomware attacks occur when an attacker demands a ransom for encrypted files or other valuable assets from a business. They can gain access to your files through phishing emails if you click on a link, visit a fake website or download a file they’ve sent when acting as a credible source.

Repetitive training, although it seems redundant, is one of the best way to strengthen your defenses against these types of attacks. An organization’s first line of defense is its workers, so having knowledgeable employees who can spot a phishing scam or other suspicious behavior will help protect you from harm.

Other highlights from TalentMLS’ Cybersecurity Survey also note:

• Only 27% of employees store their passwords safely (according to experts)
• 49% of remote employees protect their laptops using encryption, compared to 32% of office workers
• Overall, remote workers show better cybersecurity hygiene than their office counterparts

If your business is looking to train employees in cybersecurity best practices, you should start looking into security awareness programs. These types of programs offer training content like phishing simulators, policies and procedures, monthly quizzes, among other things. Done at regular intervals, these security awareness training programs can help increase an organization’s protection from outside threats.

If you’re interested in getting started with training, we offer Breach Secure Now, a breach prevention platform that will give you access to dark web monitoring, security risk assessments (plus individual employee risk assessments) and autophish simulation capabilities. Contact us at 585-582-1600 for more information.