Why Security Awareness Training Is Essential For SMBs
Introducing Coalition Security Awareness Training —
By Alok Ojha, Head of Products, Security Business, Coalition Inc. —
Coalition is guided by a single mission: protect the unprotected. To meet that mission, we offer both cyber insurance and cybersecurity tools, all focused on tackling cyber risk.
Human error is one of the biggest contributors to cyber risk. Cyber criminals use phishing, social engineering, and other human exploit techniques to initiate business email compromise (BEC) attacks, fund transfer fraud, and more. These attacks impose heavy costs: BEC alone lost US businesses $2.9 billion in 2023.
That’s why we’re launching Coalition Security Awareness Training, providing small businesses with cybersecurity training and process automation that makes it easy for IT teams to roll out security training, monitor performance, and track compliance.
Why security awareness training is essential for SMBs
Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 68% of breaches involved a human element. That finding was no surprise to Coalition, as our own 2024 Cyber Claims Report showed that over half of all cyber insurance claims originate in the inbox.
Security awareness training empowers employees to identify phishing attempts, help avoid business email compromise and financial fraud, and collaborate with IT to bolster a business’ security posture. Training programs can reduce cyber risks by up to 60% in the first 12 months, and regulators are taking notice: security awareness training is cited in nine out of 11 leading cybersecurity frameworks.
Yet, small businesses still struggle with implementing security awareness training due to a lack of guidance, exorbitant costs, and system incompatibility.
Many offerings in the market do not prioritize training effectively, overloading employees with too much training or management teams with too many curriculum decisions. These offerings are often expensive and may require extensive manual work by IT teams to implement, which can burden resource-constrained organizations. Finally, standalone offerings may not integrate with other risk management platforms, which can hinder IT teams from evaluating the impact on overall business risk posture.
That’s what differentiates Coalition Security Awareness Training from the competition: the solution is available on Coalition Control®, the cybersecurity industry’s leading cyber risk management platform, and is designed to meet the needs of small businesses.
Security awareness training empowers employees to identify phishing attempts, help avoid business email compromise and financial fraud, and collaborate with IT to bolster a business’ security posture.
Level up security culture and compliance
Coalition Security Awareness Training solution includes key capabilities for running an employee cybersecurity training program and reinforcing a business’ cyber defense:
Insurance-informed training
At Coalition, we have access to a unique resource: the claims and incident response data from our 85,000+ policyholders. We use this data to prioritize and recommend the lessons that make the biggest difference to your organization’s cyber risk.
Engaging content and interactive exercises
We provide access to an extensive library of more than 200 brief, memorable videos, covering foundational security principles and the latest cyber threats. Our phishing exercises and real-world simulations go beyond video content to better equip employees to tackle the real cyber threats they’re facing. Participants can learn how to spot phish-y emails, fraudulent messages, invoice change requests, gift card requests, and more.
Streamlined rollout and tracking
Our pre-designed courses, automated campaigns, and timely reminders help employees complete the cybersecurity training. And as cybersecurity training campaigns progress, the solution tracks user completion. These features are ready out of the box and can be flexibly configured to meet any business’ requirements, reducing the burden on security and IT teams.
Support for regulatory compliance
Businesses with industry-specific requirements can use our training to support a range of compliance initiatives, including Service Organization Control Type 2 (SOC 2), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Coalition Security Awareness Training is designed to meet the needs of small businesses and available on Coalition Control®, the cybersecurity industry’s leading cyber risk management platform.
Access training directly within Coalition Control
Coalition Security Awareness Training is unlike other training solutions. Rather than providing a standalone offering, we have simplified how SMBs can level up their employees against phishing and ransomware attacks natively in Coalition Control.
Control already empowers businesses to detect, assess, and mitigate cyber risk in real time: scanning a business’ entire digital footprint, prioritizing risks with our proprietary threat intelligence, and providing expert, step-by-step remediation guidance. But now, human risk is part of the picture, too.
Businesses can gain wide visibility of their digital risks in one convenient platform, including employee awareness. Coalition Security Awareness Training allows businesses to track performance and go beyond annual training to consistently reinforce cyber best practices. From software vulnerabilities to human risk factors — when you see it, you can control it. Coalition Control makes it possible.
Get started with Coalition Security Awareness Training
Coalition Security Awareness Training is available globally today, in every region supported by Coalition Control. Log in or sign up and start a free trial directly inside Control.
For additional questions about Coalition Security Awareness Training, please connect with our team.
About Coalition
Coalition is the world’s first Active Insurance provider designed to help prevent digital risk before it strikes. By combining comprehensive insurance coverage and cybersecurity tools, Coalition helps businesses manage and mitigate digital risks. Coalition offers its Active Insurance products in the U.S., U.K., and Canada through relationships with leading global insurers, as well as cyber capacity through its own carrier, Coalition Insurance Company. Coalition’s Active Risk Platform provides automated security alerts, threat intelligence, expert guidance, and cybersecurity tools to help businesses worldwide remain resilient against cyber attacks. Headquartered in San Francisco, Coalition is a distributed company with a global workforce that collaborates digitally and in office hubs. For more information, visit www.coalitioninc.com.
This blog post is designed to provide general information on the topic presented and is not intended to construe or the rendering of legal or other professional services of any kind. If legal or other professional advice is required, the services of a professional should be sought. The views and opinions expressed as part of this blog post do not necessarily state or reflect those of Coalition. Neither Coalition nor any of its employees make any warranty of any kind, express or implied, or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product or process disclosed. The blog post may include links to other third-party websites. These links are provided as a convenience only. Coalition does not endorse, have control over nor assumes responsibility or liability for the content, privacy policy or practices of any such third-party websites.
This communication is not a proposal of insurance. The descriptions contained herein are for preliminary informational purposes only. Exclusions and limitations apply and vary by state. Not all exclusions or limitations are referenced herein. Coverage is subject to and governed by the terms and conditions of the policy as actually issued. Please see a copy of your policy for the full terms and conditions. Coalition makes no representations regarding coverages, exclusions, or limitations in any insurance products offered on behalf of any insurer, nor any representations regarding the availability of coverage to address any risk of loss in the broader insurance marketplace.
Insurance products are offered in the U.S. by Coalition Insurance Solutions Inc. (“CIS”), a licensed insurance producer and surplus lines broker, (Cal. license # 0L76155) acting on behalf of a number of unaffiliated insurance companies, and on an admitted basis through Coalition Insurance Company (“CIC”) a licensed insurance underwriter (NAIC # 29530). See licenses and disclaimers. Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Coalition and the Coalition logo are trademarks of Coalition, Inc.
SOURCE: Coalition Inc.
