Business
WHAT CAN WE DO TO IMPROVE SECURITY AWARENESS TRAINING?
Published
1 year agoon
By
admin
By Oz Alashe, CEO, CybSafe
Cyber security issues have been the talk of the town during the pandemic. This year in particular has witnessed a surge of ransomware attacks and data breaches. The news is frequently covering the unfortunate attacks, with a range of organisations and institutions falling victim to the attackers. Schools, hospitals, large corporations, the list goes on.
This is an increasingly worrying concern for all. The threat is not slowing down – rather, it is growing, both in scale and sophistication. CybSafe’s recent analysis of ICO data found that ransomware attacks on UK organisations doubled in the first half of 2021. For every ransom attack that is put to sleep, another soon awakens and sometimes, with just as much venom as the last.
To combat this growing threat, businesses have recognised the need to invest more time and resources into cyber security initiatives and training programmes. The finance and insurance sectors recognise the importance of this the most, with 72% of financial institutions saying cyber security is a very high priority for them. However, new research from CybSafe and the National Cybersecurity Alliance has found that 61% of cybercrime victims chose not to report their attacks, compared to 39% who did. If the majority of people are not reporting cybercrime – despite the training offered –there is a need to reassess the approach taken to raising security awareness.
Existing programmes must deliver results. If this is not addressed, then employees quickly become disaffected with these initiatives and no real change is realised, leading to business leaders becoming impatient as their time and effort are seeing little impact. To meet growing cyber threats and ensure security awareness is as effective as possible, our approach towards current initiatives should be fine-tuned. But we must make sure all initiatives go beyond just awareness. An approach towards cyber security that brings genuine behavioural change should be created. It’s paramount to creating long-lasting change.

Oz Alashe
Security awareness: what is it?
To improve security awareness within an organisation, we need to truly understand what it is and what it entails. Security awareness is a way for organisations to have a better understanding of human cyber risk, making employees aware of how their behaviours impact the cyber security of a business as a whole. When it is done right, it builds a culture of good security hygiene and helps to improve customer trust.
Where are businesses going wrong?
Many financial institutions recognise the importance of security awareness, but not all of them are witnessing tangible results from their efforts. This is predominantly due to the phrase ‘awareness’ being taken too literally. A durable security culture is constructed from legitimate behavioural change. This goes far beyond the border of just being aware of threats. Behavioural change provides employees with the tools they need to protect both themselves and their organisations.
Businesses will often use exercises and initiatives that set out to reduce cyber risk, though these are quickly forgotten after completion. The best forms of education do not solely involve telling employees what they need to do. The best forms of education require buy-in from both parties to make an impact. Security awareness initiatives have to extend beyond the standard tick-box training exercises – they must inspire change that is impactful and measurable.
What is an effective approach to improving security awareness?
There are methods that businesses can adopt to improve security awareness training among their employees.
Planning and personalisation are key. Businesses must be clear on who the programme will be aimed at, the exact plans for delivery, and what areas need to be covered given the specific needs of the organisation. For example, the financial service sector has been particularly susceptible to ransomware attacks for some time. This research should not be done on the spur of the moment, only to not be revisited. Cyber threats are evolving continuously, so the methods businesses choose to ward it off should evolve just as frequently too.
This same mindset is needed regarding security awareness in general. Training is quickly forgotten if it is only delivered as a one-off event. Taking this into account, an effective way to combat forgotten training is through the use of behaviour. Behavioural nudges and the setting of regular goals tailored to each individual is key. Organisations can then ensure employees are in the loop with the latest threats and that they are frequently learning behaviour that in time, will help them to mitigate threats regularly.
Data is the master key to unlocking insights on behaviour to create training such as tailored goals and behavioural nudges. If an organisation cannot measure the progress of its security awareness initiative, then it won’t be able to identify clear-cut change. Metrics help set what measures will have the most impact at the start of a campaign. Metrics also guarantee campaigns deliver on their promise.
Throw away the blame game
To ensure these measures are a success, businesses have to discard the blame game that often accompanies cyber security initiatives at its heel. People should not be seen as the weakest link. They are, the first line of defence against cyber crime, often standing eye to eye with cyber criminals.
As a result, businesses must do what they can to ensure employees are well equipped to fend off and avert these online attacks. They should also encourage a supportive culture and environment. A supportive culture, tailored goals and clear metrics are the blueprint to building a top-notch security awareness that is set to guarantee genuine behavioural change.
Business
How app usage can help brands increase their online revenues and customer retention
Published
1 day agoon
March 23, 2023By
editorial
Arunabh Madhur, Regional VP & Head Business EMEA at SHAREit Group
Brands are continuing to invest heavily in the e-commerce market despite current market and economic challenges – and they need to. Indeed, the current global e-commerce market is valued at around $5.5 trillion. Further to that, estimates show that online retail sales will reach $6.7 trillion by the end of 2023 – and e-commerce making up 22.3% of those sales.
So despite the economic and market climate, businesses must still plan for success and cater to customer demands to make the most of the global e-commerce opportunity.
Mobile apps are key
Mobile apps are now a fundamental component of retail, as they provide customers with a convenient and engaging way to shop from their phones. The past couple of years has been rocket fuel for digital transformation, providing an opportunity for the retail industry to innovate. Whilst global trends continue to point to the user growth of Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, the trends underneath the headlines highlight significant opportunities to drive new customer acquisition, which in turn demands a targeted customer retention strategy from companies.
According to research from Baymard Institute, 69.82% of online shopping carts are abandoned and with demand expected to continue, pressure is growing on retailers to expand current offerings and create personalised experiences to tackle this. One of the big challenges e-commerce companies face, though, is analysing and maximising the behaviour of users, and bringing down the cost of their marketing and engagement against how much is earned through a customer making a purchase.
To meet customer demand, mobile apps offer a variety of features such as push notifications, product recommendations, exclusive discounts and offers, and easy checkout processes, to make the shopping experience easier for customers. By leveraging the power of mobile technology, brands can create an immersive shopping experience tailored specifically to their customer’s needs, and this in turn helps increase customer loyalty, customer return rates, and maximise online revenue.
Re-targeting and re-engaging customers
Brands should focus on re-engaging with returning consumers through a personalised strategy as this can help increase the lifetime value of users, which in turn helps brands bring the cost of their marketing down knowing that brand loyalty has been achieved. According to research from Google and Storyline Strategies study, 72% of consumers are more likely to be loyal to a brand if they offer a personalised experience.
Optimising the online shopping experience is crucial in retaining customers. Today, consumers need a more ‘human’ touch, i.e., smart product suggestions based on buying history & behaviour that helps build a one-to-one relationship between brand and buyer. In particular, push notifications haven’t just enhanced personalisation but also increased app engagement by up to 88%. Push notifications have also proven to get disengaged users back, too, with 65% returning to an app within 30 days of the push notification.
Another strategy to consider is the option of adding buy now pay later (BNPL) options at checkouts for customers. Brands that add the option of financing at the checkout allow customers to spread the cost over time, which according to Klarna has resulted in a 30% increase in checkout conversation rates.
Publisher platforms allow brands to leverage their reach and sticky user base. Especially with open platforms such as SHAREit, which can help e-commerce brands create a strong revenue conversion with higher average order value with unique retargeting and user acquisition solutions. Because users are not just sharing product links, but also sharing e-commerce apps and deals among their community. Users of these publisher platforms are also encouraged to share products and apps through platform activities.
What the future of e-commerce holds for brands
E-commerce is positioning itself as a key facet in retail, and its future. With Advancements in technology, customers can access various products and services worldwide through their smartphones – making shopping more accessible than ever. Brands must put consumers at the heart of everything they do, like never before. Offering incentives and payment options, personalising customers’ experiences and re-engaging them, as well as targeting new customers, in an effective and un-intrusive way, are all ways in which they can influence purchasing decisions and improve retention figures.
Business
Does the middle market have a financial edge?
Published
2 days agoon
March 22, 2023By
editorial
Ilija Ugrinic, Commercial Solutions Director at Proactis
Companies tend to look up the ladder when searching for ways to improve efficiency and business performance. What are larger competitors, or others outside their industry, doing right that they can learn from and implement?
What smart technologies or bright ideas do they have that could create efficiencies for them, too?
As we enter yet another likely volatile year for business, punctuated by recession, should businesses continue to only look up? And could the approach of a slightly smaller business offer more of a competitive edge?
Large corporates tend to pioneer innovation in automation by simple virtue of the resources they have. Home to transformation directors and departments, with the ability to implement large overarching software systems, they pave the way for others and are often the first to digitise their source-to-pay cycle at pace.

Ilija Ugrinic, Commercial Solutions Director at Proactis
While growing businesses understand the merits of full automation, implementing it is often too expensive and it doesn’t bring the rapid realisation of benefits that they need. They need to consider what will bring them the biggest return on investment – and the reality is that those in the middle market don’t necessarily need all the elements of an ‘all-doing’ piece of software. What’s more, without dedicated personnel to project manage a transition, they frequently lack the currency of time to be able to comfortably transform working practices, and take staff with them on the journey, without taking resource from other areas of the business.
For SMEs, digital transformation has never been quite as seismic a shift. Instead, they tend to take a modular approach, employing digital solutions only for particular areas of their finance department, where they need them. This has never been a particularly strategic move. Rather, for a growing business that values quick results and watches their outgoings with greater scrutiny than their larger counterparts, it’s something that suits them better. A modular approach also comes with very little disruption and can be implemented relatively seamlessly into their existing organisational setups.
But while growing businesses are opting for a modular approach because it’s the most cost and time effective option for them, the benefits go far beyond that. The beauty of a modular approach is that it is agile. The last three years – with pandemics, an increasingly challenging climate and shifting geopolitical tensions impacting our global economy – have only served to remind us of how suddenly, and drastically, a business landscape can change. The companies that have weathered the storm are those that have reacted and adapted quickly – those that have been capable of changing the way they do things with little impact on day-to-day operations. A modular approach can offer just that.
Businesses using modular finance technology can integrate small solutions that sync up with the rest of their processes, quickly and seamlessly – and these systems can be integrated into their existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), too. There’s no restriction of a monolithic or aging piece of software either – finance teams can add and update small solutions to their daily operations without the upheaval of having to replace or update large IT infrastructures or wider working practices within the business to accommodate the new software.
Unrestricted by entrenched and hard-to-change systems, the speed with which SMEs are able to react to market changes is miles ahead. A prompt software add-on to manage risk, or create a quick fix in response to a market shift, can be virtually a knee-jerk reaction. SME’s abilities to bend and flex to today’s world efficiently is seeing them reap the benefits of a modular approach. It’s lean, it’s fast and it’s facilitating their growth with a strong competitive edge. And as some of these companies’ growth propels them into the large corporate sphere, they’re choosing to keep a modular approach to finance. It will certainly be interesting to watch those middle-sized companies which grow to the extent that they find themselves competing in the same space. With no financial remodelling to assume a large ‘all-doing’ piece of software, they’ll be competing against their counterparts with completely different tools in their arsenal.
With technology, working life and business needs continuing to change day to day, we have another year ahead of us that will see companies running to keep pace with each other – and fast-growing companies’ approach to finance could be the silver bullet that enables them to catch up with, and even take on, big enterprises. It might just give them a competitive edge against large corporates in these turbulent times.
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