Month: November 2024

Keeping Security Awareness Relevant

There is a tried-and-true principle that helps guide a successful cybersecurity awareness program – until something matters to someone personally, they will never change. This speaks to an important part of all security awareness efforts – answering the question: why should they care. That’s why there is an ongoing need to keep your cybersecurity awareness program RELEVANT to the individuals in your organization.

Part 2 of this series: Keeping Security Awareness Relevant.

Practical Ways to Keep Your Program Relevant:

  • Make it personal. Tie all security awareness communiques to their personal application for the individuals in your organization.
  • Give people what they need to be successful. Don’t just tell them scary stories or things not to do. Provide practical, actionable guidance on what they can do in the face of ever-changing security threats.
  • Use current events – without driving fear. The news (industry-specific, regional, national, and international) is full of current events that can help drive awareness of the need for good security hygiene. The challenge is not to “scare people straight” with the information, but rather relate it to why security best practices should be on people’s mind as they do their job and live their lives.
  • Audience you message. Not everything matters to everyone the same way. Along these lines, consider who should send the message. Not everyone listens to the same people the same way. 
  • Get testimonials and stories from your organization. This brings the message of security awareness closer to home and closer to front of mind. 
  • Use specific stories that are relevant to organizations and their personnel. While some generic security guidance is helpful, tailoring the messages and information to organizations and their personnel gets their attention more quickly. 
  • Empower your people to respond. Remind them that EVERYONE is part of the organization’s security effort. Remind them regularly who to call, who to email, and what to do in the event of an incident or a security-related question. 
  • Deal with resistance. Invariably, there will be pushback on participation in a cybersecurity awareness program. This is most noticeable when you are asking people to DO something (like attend an event or consume learning content). Keep in mind that resistance is not bad. It is an indication of something. Listen to them and ask why.
  • FINALLY, the pièce de ré·sis·tance. Give them practical tips and useful information to help them in their personal lives. Give them advice for their home, travel, family, and finances. Give them best practices for protecting their identity and the things that matter in their lives. This will win the hearts of your people and not just the minds.

Next will be the final in the 3-Part series – Part 3: Keeping Security Awareness Sustainable.

Reminder: If you need help getting your security awareness efforts off the ground or achieving all three goals with your cybersecurity awareness program mentioned in this series, we’re here to help.

About the Author

Kenny Leckie

Alterity | Senior Technology & Change Management Consultant

In his role as Senior Technology and Change Management Consultant, Kenny provides thought leadership and consulting to the community in areas of information security/cybersecurity awareness, change management, user adoption, adult learning, employee engagement, professional development, and business strategy. He also works with clients to develop and deploy customized programs with an emphasis on user adoption and increased return on investment. Kenny is a Prosci
Certified Change Practitioner, a Certified Technical Trainer and has earned the trust of organizations across the US, Canada, The UK, Europe and Australia.

Kenny has more than thirty years of combined experience as a Chief Information Officer, Manager of Support & Training, and now a consultant, providing him a unique point of view and understanding of the challenges of introducing change in organizations. He combines his years of experience with a strategic approach to help clients implement programs that allows focus on the business while minimizing risk to confidential, protected, and sensitive information. Kenny is an author and speaker and a winner of ILTA’s 2018 Innovative Consultant of the Year.

Exploring the Future of Work with Microsoft Copilot

Exploring the Future of Work with Microsoft Copilot: A TechCon365 Recap

Attending the Microsoft TechCon365 Conference in Seattle was an enlightening experience, particularly with the spotlight on Microsoft Copilot. Here’s a recap of my top six standout sessions.

Next Level Productivity with Microsoft Copilot
The journey began with Andy Huneycutt’s all-day workshop which showcased Copilot’s vast capabilities. Key takeaways from the workshop included the detailed overview of Copilot plus the ROI Calculation to measure Copilot’s cost-effectiveness (ROI= Time per iteration × Number of iterations × Hourly rate); a deep dive on Microsoft Graph integration, and an overview of the many Prompt Engineering techniques available.
Process Mining and AI Integration

The Process Mining session showcased the innovative integration of process mining with AI capabilities and how Copilot can analyze data to identify inefficiencies and trends, and then make actionable recommendations. The use of Power BI for creating monitoring dashboards and the anticipation of Copilot for PowerAutomate going live were also significant points of discussion. This integration represents a leap forward in process optimization, offering a glimpse into the future of automated workflow management and data-driven decision-making.

Enhancing Collaboration with Teams Premium
The session on Teams Premium highlighted its advanced features designed to enhance collaboration and meeting experiences. The session covered the add-on license, improved meeting experiences, advanced protection, richer engagement, and the creation of custom meeting templates. Intelligent Teams meetings and recaps were introduced, including automatic generation of meeting notes and tasks from transcriptions, personalized timeline markers, and mentions. The recap tab, available post-meeting, and intelligent speaker recognition were also discussed, emphasizing the need for transcription activation. The meeting underscored Teams Premium’s potential to revolutionize meeting dynamics with its innovative capabilities.
Overcoming Barriers to Copilot Adoption

Stephen Rose’s “Garbage In Garbage Out” session shared the top 10 blockers for Copilot adoption, including data overload and the need for enhanced security opportunities, providing insights for organizations aiming to streamline their technological infrastructure. His recommendations included suggestions around storage that caught the attention of digital hoarders:

  • Outdated information in archives, necessitating the purging of emails older than 12-18 months.
  • Obsolete documents in OneDrive over 3 years old and unused in the last 90 days should be moved to Azure cold storage.
  • Integration of data across platforms, ensuring all data is in the M365 Cloud.
  • Removal of non-integrated third-party apps like Box, Slack, Zoom, and Blue Jeans.
Adaptive Cards: Bringing Tools to Users
Later in the week, Derek Cash-Peterson covered Adaptive Cards, highlighting their integration with Viva Connections and the new Adaptive Card Extensions (ACE). These cards are designed to bring tools directly to users within their work context, serving as a hub for news and resources across Microsoft 365. They offer extensibility for custom functionality, presenting a collection of features accessible through an app bar, the Connections app, and a dashboard in SharePoint. The updated Teams app and mobile-friendly design ensure that Adaptive Cards cater to a wide range of users, including those on the go. With various development options, including no-code, low-code, and pro-code, Adaptive Cards empower many vendors to create web plugins, making them accessible to HR and Marketing professionals who may not be familiar with JSON. The cards are theme-aware, offer different layouts, and provide quick view options, enhancing user experience with efficient navigation and personalized content.
Copilot in OneDrive: Streamline Workflows

My last session of the conference was with Ben Truelove on the new (coming soon) Copilot in OneDrive. His moto: Spend less time doing the work to get your work done. He broke features down into 6 categories.

  • Discover allows users to quickly find information within their files.
  • Catch Up to provide summaries of file updates.
  • Organize to automate content organization,
  • Create to transform existing files into more meaningful content.
  • Banish Busywork to reduce preliminary tasks.

He shared ways to conduct Q&A on files without opening them, compare images for insights, and convert Copilot responses into documents. This final session really emphasized the continuous evolution of Copilot across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Conclusion

TechCon365 offered a glimpse into the future where Microsoft Copilot and its suite of tools will play a pivotal role in the way we work, collaborate, and create. The conference was a testament to Microsoft’s commitment to innovation and productivity, providing a wealth of knowledge and a vision of a more empowered workforce.

Author: Carolyn Humpherys, Learning and Change Management Consultant, Traveling Coaches

Ready to take the next step in AI adoption? Contact us today to learn how Alterity can help you fully unlock the potential of Microsoft 365 Copilot in your organization.