Keep cybersecurity awareness simple

Cybersecurity might be complicated, but does your cybersecurity awareness program have to be complicated as well? Nope, you can keep your cybersecurity awareness program simple.

Here's an example.

Widgets R Us finally created an option for employees to share files securely outside the organization. The employees are excited, but here's what they find:

• They have to log in with yet another username and password
• The website is difficult to remember, and there are no links to it on the Intranet
• Once logged in, they have to follow a 20 step process to upload and share the file
• They can only share one file at a time, so they must repeat the 20 step process for each file
• They can only share with one person at a time, so the 20 step process must be repeated for each person that needs to send to file

Do you think your employees will complete 180 steps to send three files to 3 people??

This is what I mean by keeping it simple. Sometimes those of us who work in tech are shooting ourselves in the foot. We give a solution, but it's so dang complicated no one will use it. Are we doing anything to help our humans be more secure if nobody's using the solution? Absolutely not.

How do you keep cybersecurity awareness simple?

Keep solutions simple.

Keep solutions for the business as simple as possible. Technology should be intuitive, and you shouldn't need a manual to do whatever you've got to do. Bring on some non-techy people and have them test out a tool. If it's too complicated for them to pick up quickly, you need to get back to the drawing board.

Drop the tech speak.

It's important to make sure you're talking to people in their language. For us geeks that means dropping the tech speak. Here are 5 Tips to get you started:

• Stop using jargon to sound credible
• Identify your audience
• Speak to the benefits
• Conduct the great grandmother test. Would your great-grandmother understand what you're saying and what she has to do? If not, your fellow employees aren't going to get it either.
• Work with your communications department to craft better language.

Is there a piece of tech out there that's supposed to make your life simpler, but instead is driving you absolutely batty? Drop a comment below, and let me know. I'll reply.