Training and Awareness for the Trained and Aware
Training and awareness is a foundational part of any Insider Risk Program. In fact, one wouldn’t be far off in saying an organization will find some of its greatest returns on investment (ROI) in this area. Why?
Only training and awareness initiatives enable an organization to impart knowledge, build a positive organizational culture of engagement, and craft a crowd-sourced layer of protection.
There are innumerable reasons to engage the workforce.
An individual may be preparing to travel abroad or planning to present groundbreaking work at a tech conference.
A group of newly minted employees are onboarding.
An office may be considering a contract with a new vendor.
An entire enterprise needs a refresher on IT system hygiene or needs to hear what happened in the latest successful phishing attack.
But how about us— the Insider Risk professionals?
I get paid to be Trained and Aware, but this week I saw something new.
I was contacted by an organization needing someone to build out their Insider Risk Program. I took the call. But prior to the scheduled discussion, I did a little research into the job itself. With a little effort, I noticed there were four other companies utilizing the same or near same verbiage. I’ve only legitimately seen this when companies source talent for a upcoming government contract bid. Now my interest is piqued for another reason. Since the titles are related to Insider Risk, I definitely wanted to see where it went.
Call starts. During the conversation, I was asked for small bits of information spread evenly over the 20 minutes— both verbal and written. Things which in compilation would’ve been pretty helpful to reset personal or business accounts, i.e. establish a foothold. I asked about the other companies with the same roles, there was a long pause and no convincing answer was given. The final act of sophistication was being sent a couple pdfs on LinkedIn and being told they needed to be opened NOW. Sigh, no thanks.
Previously, I’ve worked with many individuals and organizations to manage similar risks. But I suppose seeing it specifically target Insider Risk professionals just hit a little different.
The Insider Risk community has grown considerably over the last 10 years. The surge of great talent is only seconded to the demand for even more great talent. So for all of us in the Insider Risk mission space, whether we are seeking that next career broadening opportunity, growing our businesses, or potentially collaborating with new partners, keep a keen eye out. The opportunities are there— both real and not-so-real.
