7 Cybersecurity Awareness Tips for Employees to Protect Your Business in 2026

Top 7 Essential Cybersecurity Awareness Tips For Employees To Protect Your Business In 2026

Hackers do not need to break through your firewall if an employee opens the door for them. That is still how most attacks start in 2026.

What changed is the bait. Criminals now use artificial intelligence (AI) to write flawless emails, clone voices, and fake video calls. The old advice to look for spelling errors no longer protects you.

Small and mid-sized businesses are prime targets. Many lack the training and tools that larger companies have. In this blog, we cover why training matters and seven tips built for the threats your team faces today.

 

Why Cybersecurity Awareness Training Still Matters

People are still the easiest way into a business. Training teaches employees to spot phishing and other attacks, then report them fast. It works best with strong threat detection and response, so IT can act the moment someone raises a flag.

Here is what the newest research shows.

• 62% of data breaches involved a person who made a mistake or was tricked. (Verizon 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report)
• Scams sent by phone call or text worked 40% more often than email scams in phishing tests. (Verizon 2026 DBIR, via Help Net Security)
• 45% of employees now use AI tools on work devices. 67% of them log in with personal accounts, outside company control. (Verizon 2026 DBIR, via Help Net Security)
• The average U.S. data breach now costs $11.5 million. The global average hit a record $4.99 million. (IBM 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report, via Infosecurity Magazine)
• Attacks that used AI rose 56% in one year. They added about $1 million to the cost of a breach. (IBM 2026, via Cycode)
• Americans reported $20.9 billion in cybercrime losses in 2025. That is 26% more than in 2024. (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2025 Report, via HIPAA Journal)
• Business email compromise (BEC) scams cost victims more than $3 billion in 2025. The FBI warns criminals now use voice cloning to fake executives. (FBI IC3 2025, via SpyCloud)

 

How a Fake Video Call Cost an Engineering Firm $25 Million

In early 2024, scammers targeted Arup, the global engineering firm behind the Sydney Opera House. They did not hack a single system. They used AI to fake the faces and voices of company leaders.

A Cautionary Tale for Business Owners

Here is what happened. A finance employee in Arup’s Hong Kong office got an email that seemed to come from the chief financial officer (CFO). It asked for a secret money transfer. The employee had doubts.

Then came a video call. The CFO and several coworkers appeared on screen. They looked and sounded real. Every one of them was a deepfake built from public video and audio.

Feeling reassured, the employee made 15 transfers worth about $25.6 million. The fraud came to light only after the employee checked in with headquarters. (CNN, via ABC 17 News)

Why This Matters for Your Business

The employee’s first instinct was right. The mistake was trusting a video call to confirm the request. Today, seeing and hearing someone is no longer proof it is really them.

Construction firms, manufacturers, and nonprofits move money to vendors, subcontractors, and partners every week. One fake request can drain an account in an afternoon. That is why many companies use events like National Internet Safety Month to retrain their teams. Here are seven cybersecurity tips to help your team stop it.

 

The Top 7 Cybersecurity Awareness Tips for Employees

These tips match how attackers work in 2026. Each one gives your team clear steps, the protection it adds, and what happens if it is skipped.

1. Verify Every Money or Data Request on a Second Channel

Steps to Take: Treat any request for money, gift cards, passwords, or banking changes as unconfirmed. Call the person back on a number you already have. Never use the phone number or link in the message. For large payments, require a second approver or a code word.

Protection: AI can now fake emails, voices, and even live video. A callback on a known number is one check a scammer cannot easily fake.

Consequences: One fake request can lead to a wire transfer you never get back. It can also expose client data and damage trust.

2. Spot Phishing by What It Asks, Not How It Looks

Steps to Take: Stop looking for typos. AI writes clean, friendly, perfect emails. Instead, watch for urgency, secrecy, new payment details, or a surprise login page. Use your email’s Report button for anything that feels off.

Protection: Fast reports, backed by strong email security, let IT block the same attack before it spreads.

Consequences: Missed phishing leads to stolen logins, malware, and fake invoices that get paid.

3. Treat Calls, Texts, and QR Codes Like Email

Steps to Take: Do not tap links in texts from unknown numbers. Do not scan QR codes in emails or on flyers to log in. If “IT support” calls asking for a code or remote access, hang up and call your real help desk.

Protection: Phone and text scams now fool people more often than email. Slowing down on mobile closes that gap.

Consequences: A single phone call can hand an attacker your login, your multi-factor code, or full control of your computer.

4. Use Phishing-Resistant Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Steps to Take: Use passkeys or an authenticator app with number matching when your company offers them. Avoid text message codes where a better option exists. Never approve a login prompt you did not start. Report surprise prompts to IT right away.

Protection: Strong multi-factor authentication, like passkeys and number matching, stops most stolen passwords and fake login pages. Denying surprise prompts defeats attackers who spam you with requests.

Consequences: One tap on the wrong prompt gives an attacker the same access you have.

5. Use Long Passphrases and a Password Manager

Steps to Take: Make passwords at least 15 characters long. A short phrase of random words works well. Never reuse a password between accounts. Let a company-approved password manager create and store them.

Protection: Length matters more than symbols. Federal guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) now calls for 15 characters when a password stands alone. (NIST SP 800-63B Rev. 4 summary, via Enzoic)

Consequences: Reused passwords let one breach at another website unlock your work accounts.

6. Use Only Company-Approved AI Tools

Steps to Take: Ask IT for a list of company-approved AI tools. Never paste client data, bids, financials, drawings, or passwords into a personal AI account. Log in with your work account, not your personal one.

Protection: Approved tools keep company data inside systems your IT team can secure and monitor.

Consequences: Data pasted into a personal AI account leaves your control. That can break client contracts and compliance rules.

7. Keep Devices Updated and Ignore Fake Fix-It Prompts

Steps to Take: Allow automatic updates and restart when asked. Never copy and paste a command because a website, pop-up, or “I am not a robot” check tells you to. Close the page and tell IT.

Protection: Updates close the security holes attackers use most. Ignoring fake fix-it steps stops a tricky new way to install malware.

Consequences: One pasted command or skipped update can let ransomware lock up your whole network.

“Your first line of defense in cybersecurity is your people.”
– Jeh Johnson (former US Secretary of Homeland Security)

 

Essential Cybersecurity Checklist for Employees

Share this simple list with your whole team. It works in the office, on the job site, or at home.

• Call Back Before You Pay: Use a number you already have, never the one in the message.
• Do Not Trust a Voice or Video Alone: AI can fake both.
• Be Wary of Urgent or Secret Requests: Scammers rush you so you skip steps.
• Watch for Changed Bank Details: Fake invoices and new vendor accounts are top scams.
• Report Anything Strange Right Away: Fast reports help IT stop threats. No one gets in trouble for asking.
• Do Not Click Links in Unexpected Texts: Text scams now work better than email scams.
• Do Not Scan QR Codes to Log In: Fake QR codes lead to fake login pages.
• Never Give Codes to Callers: Real IT will never ask for your MFA code.
• Deny Login Prompts You Did Not Start: Then tell IT.
• Use Passkeys or an Authenticator App: They beat text message codes.
• Use 15+ Character Passphrases: Never reuse them.
• Use a Password Manager: Let it create and remember passwords for you.
• Use Only Approved AI Tools: Keep company data out of personal AI accounts.
• Never Paste Commands From a Website: Fake “fix it” steps install malware.
• Install Updates Quickly: Restart when asked.
• Be Careful With Attachments: Open only what you expected to receive.
• Check With IT Before Connecting New Devices: Keeps the network safe.
• Use Company Wi-Fi or a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for Work: Avoid open public Wi-Fi for sensitive tasks.
• Store Files in Approved Locations: Not on your desktop or personal drives.

 

Want Help With Cybersecurity Awareness Training for Your Employees?

7tech offers free cybersecurity awareness training for your employees, as a risk-free way to get to know us. This offer is valid for organizations with over 25 employees. Our one-time, expert-led webinar teaches your staff to avoid the threats in this blog. Ongoing training keeps that awareness sharp.

With 7tech’s Managed Security Services, your team gets training built around the real risks your business faces. We help your people build safe habits that last.

Book a free 15-Minute Discovery Call to learn more about our cybersecurity awareness training and Managed Cybersecurity Services.