Security Awareness

Security Awareness

Cybersecurity awareness refers to the mindfulness of the employees and contractors within an organization with regards to the potential cyber threats and risks they face, as well as the practices and behaviors needed to mitigate these risks. As humans are considered the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain, it therefore relies on educating employees about the importance of protecting sensitive information, recognizing phishing attempts, understanding safe internet practices, and following organizational security policies. 

The Importance of Security Awareness

In today’s digital landscape, employees are often the first line of defense against cyber threats. However, they can also be the weakest link if not properly trained and aware of potential risks. Security awareness training is essential to equip your staff with the knowledge and skills to identify and respond to phishing attempts, social engineering tactics, and other cyber threats, thereby strengthening your overall security posture. By conducting regular awareness training, tailoring it towards your needs, companies will be able to: 

  • Reduce Human Error: Many cyber attacks exploit human error, such as falling for phishing scams or using weak passwords. Awareness training helps employees recognize and avoid these pitfalls.
  • Protect Sensitive Data: Employees who understand the importance of data security are more likely to handle sensitive information properly, reducing the risk of data breaches.
  • Enhance Incident Response: Informed employees can act quickly and appropriately when a security incident occurs, helping to contain and mitigate the damage.
  • Comply with Requirements: Many regulations and standards, such as GDPR and PCI DSS, mandate cybersecurity training and awareness as part of compliance requirements.
  • Build a Security Culture: Regular awareness programs foster a culture of security within the organization, making cybersecurity a shared responsibility and priority for everyone.
  • Prevent Financial Loss: Cyber attacks can lead to significant financial losses due to downtime, data loss, and regulatory fines. Awareness helps prevent these costly incidents.
  • Maintain Customer Trust: Demonstrating a commitment to cybersecurity through a well-informed workforce helps maintain customer trust and protect the organization’s reputation.

Our Approach

At Pretera we believe that every company has a strong unique working culture and therefore ready made awareness services might not be a fit-for-all solution. We have therefore created a unique methodology which is easily adaptive towards your specific needs. We initially seek to understand the working culture, find weak spots and combine the results of penetration testing to adapt and create a tailor made awareness campaign. For our awareness services, leverage tactics, techniques, and procedures used by real-world attackers to better understand exposures and your ability to respond to threats. We conduct the exercises based on the following elements: 

  1. Identify your needs
  2. Tailor content and customize towards target audiences
  3. Delivering the awareness campaign through 
    1. Phishing Simulations: Conducting realistic phishing simulations to test and improve employee awareness and response.
      1. Email Phishing: Simulating phishing emails to identify how employees respond to suspicious emails.
      2. SMS Phishing: Testing employees’ responses to phishing attempts via text messages.
      3. Voice Phishing: Conducting voice phishing (vishing) simulations to evaluate how employees handle fraudulent phone calls.
    2. Social Engineering: Assessing your organization’s susceptibility to social engineering attacks and providing training to mitigate these risks.
      1. In-Person Social Engineering: Simulating real-world social engineering attacks to test employee vigilance.
      2. Remote Social Engineering: Evaluating employee responses to remote social engineering attempts, such as phone or email scams.
    3. Interactive Training Modules: Providing engaging and interactive training modules to educate employees on various aspects of security awareness.
      1. Cybersecurity Basics: Covering fundamental cybersecurity concepts and best practices.
      2. Recognizing Threats: Teaching employees how to identify and report potential security threats.
      3. Incident Response: Training employees on the correct procedures to follow in the event of a security incident.
    4. Security Awareness Campaigns: Developing and implementing ongoing security awareness campaigns to keep security top-of-mind for employees.
      1. Regular Updates: Providing regular updates and reminders about current threats and best practices.
      2. Awareness Materials: Distributing posters, newsletters, and other materials to reinforce security messages.
  4. Detailed reporting and action plans

Key Features of Our Security Awareness Services

  • Phishing Simulations: Conducting realistic phishing simulations to test and improve employee awareness and response.
    • Email Phishing: Simulating phishing emails to identify how employees respond to suspicious emails.
    • SMS Phishing: Testing employees’ responses to phishing attempts via text messages.
    • Voice Phishing: Conducting voice phishing (vishing) simulations to evaluate how employees handle fraudulent phone calls.
  • Social Engineering: Assessing your organization’s susceptibility to social engineering attacks and providing training to mitigate these risks.
    • In-Person Social Engineering: Simulating real-world social engineering attacks to test employee vigilance.
    • Remote Social Engineering: Evaluating employee responses to remote social engineering attempts, such as phone or email scams.
  • Interactive Training Modules: Providing engaging and interactive training modules to educate employees on various aspects of security awareness.
    • Cybersecurity Basics: Covering fundamental cybersecurity concepts and best practices.
    • Recognizing Threats: Teaching employees how to identify and report potential security threats.
    • Incident Response: Training employees on the correct procedures to follow in the event of a security incident.
  • Security Awareness Campaigns: Developing and implementing ongoing security awareness campaigns to keep security top-of-mind for employees.
    • Regular Updates: Providing regular updates and reminders about current threats and best practices.
    • Awareness Materials: Distributing posters, newsletters, and other materials to reinforce security messages.
  • Assessments and Metrics: Measuring the effectiveness of security awareness programs through assessments and providing detailed reports.
    • Knowledge Assessments: Testing employee knowledge before and after training to measure improvement.
    • Behavioral Metrics: Tracking changes in employee behavior to gauge the impact of training.

Detailed Reporting and Remediation Guidance

Our detailed penetration testing report is written in understandable terms and provides clear and actionable information about identified vulnerabilities, their potential impact, and recommended remediation steps. This allows your team to quickly understand and start addressing issues immediately.

  • Executive Summary: High-level overview of the findings aimed for management and delivered shortly after the assessment.
  • Technical Details: In-depth reporting with details at every step of our penetration testing services, helping your technical teams replicate the vectors easily and remediate swiftly.  
  • Report Readout: We provide report read out for your management, accelerating the understanding of the report and clarifying any unclarities on the spot. 
  • Remediation Guidance: Post-pentest step-by-step support and guidance on how to fix identified vulnerabilities and accelerate the remediation 
  • Free Retesting: Following the remediation of identified vulnerabilities, we offer a free retesting of all the vulnerabilities to ensure everything has been remediated.

Why Work With Us

Our team of experienced security professionals brings deep knowledge and experience of application security and the latest threat landscapes. We operate as your internal team, seeking to always understand the challenges you face and ensure you solve them, always. Work with us and experience open and transparent communication throughout the testing process providing real-time updates and insights. This collaborative approach ensures that you are always informed and can prioritize remediation efforts.

KeyPoints

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    Human Element Vulnerability

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    Security Awareness Training

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    Social Engineering Assessments

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    Updated Security Trends

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    Simulated Phishing Attacks

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    Cybersecurity Culture Development

Related Certifications

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    Offensive Security Certified Expert

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    Offensive Security Certified Expert

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    Offensive Security Certified Expert

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    Offensive Security Certified Expert

Our Approach

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    We Assess

After an initial call with the client, Pretera will start working on scoping and based on the required amount of the time required to complete the work, the client will receive a detailed offer.

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    We Prevent

During the assessment phase, Pretera will provide its services for which the client has paid for, and it could range from a few days assessment to a several weeks assessment.

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    We Secure

Upon completion of the assessment, Pretera will deliver a detailed report of findings to the client and will offer a walk-through presentation if asked by the client.

FAQ