A recent survey has reported that the average millennial, who can be anybody aged 18-25 in your company, takes less than adequate precautions in terms of online security.

52% of the young people surveyed admitted to using the same password for multiple online locations, with some saying that they had as many as 21 accounts using the same credentials.

Worryingly, replicating passwords for different accounts was only one issue highlighted by the survey. Millennials often send information as sensitive as passport details, bank details and driving licenses via insecure messaging systems.

How young people use their smart phones in day-to-day life highlights their ignorance of the importance of cybersecurity. While it would be a tragedy for a young person to suffer a personal security breach, it might not be of any concern to you as a business owner/manager.

Having said that, their personal security habits could be transferrable to their business life once they become employed. For a company in the technology space, or any company for that matter, a lack of understanding of the importance of online security from one individual could result in a costly cyber-attack.

Reduce the risk

For a company that holds sensitive customer data, or any data that needs protecting, you need to make sure that any young people coming into workplace are made aware of the dangers of cybercrime, and its consequences.

A process could be put in place for new young staff, such as firstly highlighting the dangers of something as trivial as using the same password for multiple accounts. Identifying the most basic elements of cybersecurity would be a good place to start.

Explaining real life worst-case scenarios such as a hacker breaking into their phone and reading every text that they have sent, including the sensitive data mentioned above, might open their eyes to their own personal security to begin with. The four-digit code on their iPhone isn’t the be all and end all.

Next, it is essential to explain which areas of your company are most important to protect, e.g. customer databases and the like. We’re all aware that GDPR is now in play, which means a breach to customer data could result in heavy fines.

Invest in a cybersecurity solution

Relying on employees to remain vigilant is important, however it isn’t enough. Keeping passwords secure and exercising safe online behaviour isn’t enough to stop a hacker who wants to get into your business’ network.

Small and medium sized businesses are more at risk now than ever, with more than 7 million crimes being reported against SMBs every year – that’s 19,000 a day!

There are many security solutions out there that mitigate the chance of a hacker being able to break into your network.

Symantec Endpoint Protection 14 is the latest edition to the industry leader’s flagship solution. The technology has advanced to allow users to lay bait for cybercriminals, luring them in and learning from their strategy.

It allows your staff to implement productivity tools and browsers without risk, due to its advanced multi-layered security. Machine learning means that the system adapts to changing online threats, too.

As highlighted earlier, millennials and younger members of staff still need to be educated on the risks and consequences of poor online security habits. When this education is combined with a solution like Endpoint Protection 14, your business is well poised for any attempted online security breach.

In the event that your staff do “slip-up” with a password or leave sensitive data in a more vulnerable location, Symantec’s innovative, pioneering system will be there to defend your files and catch the criminals in the act, so your business can rest assured that it is secure.

If this blog were an equation, it would look something like this:

Cybersecurity education + effective defence solution = secure, intelligent business