7 Ways To Increase Your Customers' Awareness Of Cybersecurity

By Chris Crellin, VP of Product Management, Intronis

Moving at the speed of business today means providing immediate access to critical business data and applications, regardless of whether workers are on-site or working remotely. It also means enabling workers to respond quickly to customer and partner requests via e-mail and instant messaging, and leveraging cloud computing to support instant collaboration between workers, customers, and partners in different geographic locations. But what many businesses and consumers discount are the relentless threats waiting for them once they “power on” and use the Internet and cloud computing to get it all done.  

To help build greater awareness of how threats are impacting businesses and consumers alike, we just wrapped up National Cyber Security Awareness Month in October. And, while we advocate awareness around cybersecurity year-round, this national focus gives managed services providers (MSPs) and solution providers a prime opportunity for engaging and educating clients on the topic.

Here are seven ways that MSPs and solution providers can increase cybersecurity awareness among their customers:

1. Use stats to communicate the importance of cybersecurity. For example, roughly, 81 percent of all data breaches happen to small businesses, and 60 percent of SMBs that are victims of a cyberattack go out of business within six months.
2. Teach end users how to protect themselves from cybercrime. Showing your customers how to turn off auto-downloads for attachments and save and scan attachments before opening them is an effective way to help prevent an incident.
3. Share examples of what an attack might look like. PC Risk offers some great examples of the common types of computer infections. Examples like these make your lessons about safe behavior online more effective. Also, show your customer what it would look like if their system became infected by malware so they recognize the warning signs and know to alert someone immediately.
4. Keep customers informed about current threats. An email blast or hosting a webinar is a good way to do this, and you can also include a cybersecurity section in your customer newsletter.
5. Schedule regular refreshers and tests with customers’ employees. Take this opportunity to share best practices for password management and avoiding phishing and keylogger scams. Encourage people to participate by offering rewards to employees with the highest scores.
6. Encourage your customers’ employees to share potential errors right away. Accidentally clicking on a suspicious link is a good example of this, and by telling someone immediately afterward, the employee can minimize the amount of time between a potential breach and getting it addressed.
7. Periodically assess your customers’ security posture. CompTIA’s IT Security Assessment Wizard is a great resource for identifying your customers’ strengths and weaknesses when it comes to IT security, so that you can help them make adjustments to better protect their businesses.

These are just a handful of the ways that MSPs and solution providers can foster meaningful conversations and encourage customers to be more proactive around cybersecurity. For more tips check out our recent blog post Cyber Security Awareness Month – 31 Tips for IT Service Providers.

Chris Crellin is senior director of product management at Intronis, a Boston-based provider of world-class backup and data protection solutions for the IT channel. He has more than 15 years of experience in the security and data protection industries and previously worked for Datto, Inc. and RSA, the Security Division of EMC.