NCSC's cyber security training for staff now available

The NCSC's recent work with small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), charities, and the legal and accountancy sectors, has highlighted a key issue for those organisations.

There is so much cyber security advice available these days, many people find it hard to know where to start. Some organisations struggle to explain why cyber security is something that all staff should care about. Even larger organisations (with dedicated training resources) find it difficult to explain the technical aspects of cyber security in ways that are relevant to their staff, so that they can help keep their organisations (and themselves) safe from cyber attack.

Equally, many SMEs and charities may not have the resources to put any cyber security policies and training in place at all, leaving staff exposed as their frontline defence against cyber attacks.

For these reasons, the NCSC has produced an e-learning training package: 'Staying Safe Online: Top Tips for Staff'. It’s totally free, easy-to-use and takes less than 30 minutes to complete. The training introduces why cyber security is important and how attacks happen, and then covers four key areas:

• defending yourself against phishing
• using strong passwords
• securing your devices
• reporting incidents ('if in doubt, call it out')

The training is primarily aimed at SMEs, charities and the voluntary sector, but can be applied to any organisation, regardless of size or sector. It's been deliberately designed for a non-technical audience (who may have little or no knowledge of cyber security), with tips that complement any existing policies and procedures.