As the heart of the relationship between companies and their customers, the contact center is much more important than most organizations realize. It’s not just a crucial tool in converting customers and retaining clients. The contact center is also home to one of your most valuable assets: data.
Contact centers collect and produce vast volumes of data daily, from sensitive information such as credit card numbers and payment details to personal insights about each customer’s journey. Unfortunately, while this data can be precious to business leaders, it also attracts the attention of scammers, hackers, and criminals in the digital world.
While there are many ways contact centers can protect themselves against compliance, security, and privacy issues, the path to success starts with one crucial step: educating and guiding employees.
Gone Phishing: The Rise of Phishing Scams in Contact Centers
Security issues are caused by numerous threats throughout the workplace, from poorly managed processes to unsecured networks. However, researchers from Stanford University found that around 88% of all data breaches are prompted by human error. In other words, your business will likely suffer an attack if your team members don’t know how to recognize scams and respond to threats.
The threat of human error has grown increasingly worrying in recent years following the introduction of hybrid and remote work into the business landscape. Working from home and distributed locations, employees don’t have access to the same guidance, firewalls, and security measures they might have in the office. This means every employee needs to be more cautious when handling data.
The pandemic and the rise of remote and hybrid work have also given way to an increase in certain types of security attacks. Phishing scams grew more common during lockdowns, as criminals attempted to trick employees to stay connected with remote colleagues.
Unfortunately, 47% of individuals say they’re likelier to fall for a phishing scam when working from home. Without guidance, it’s not always easy to determine which links, downloads, and resources are safe and secure.
Securing the Workforce: Keeping Teams Informed
Hybrid and remote work is unlikely to go anywhere in the years to come.
Gartner predicts by 2023, 39% of knowledge workers will be operating on a hybrid basis. Many major companies have adopted fully remote or hybrid policies to benefit from lower operating costs and improved employee engagement. Unfortunately, companies must take additional measures to keep their teams safe wherever they work.
Contact center employees will always be a target for cybercriminals and data thieves. While secured platforms like Microsoft Teams, privacy apps, and monitoring tools can help to keep breaches to a minimum, the most important thing today’s companies can do is keep their teams informed.
Phishing scams are constantly evolving, and ensuring teams know what to look for and how to protect both business and customer data is essential to defending your brand’s reputation.
Fortunately, your contact center wallboard offers the perfect opportunity to provide your employees with crucial information, advice, and guidance.
With wallboards and contact center agent dashboards, you can:
- Highlight security issues: Use instant notifications and alerts to inform employees of potential threats circulating through the business network. Provide insights on email addresses to avoid, links to ignore, and dangerous downloads to delete.
- Provide educational resources: With links to company blog posts and knowledge articles on a wallboard or dashboard, companies can encourage employees to educate themselves on the latest phishing scams and issues they need to be aware of.
- Encourage critical thinking: Regular reminder announcements about common threats, tips on avoiding critical issues, and other statements can be included within the wallboard to help encourage employees to think critically about each resource they access.
Protect Your Team from the Threat of Phishing
As the digital world evolves and the contact center transforms, cyber security threats become more prominent for businesses in every industry. Phishing attacks have been growing more significant in the contact center for the last few years.
However, knowledge is power when it comes to compliance and security. Keeping your team members informed and educated with the suitable wallboard and agent desktop strategy can help you avoid falling victim to common scams.
Learn more about how you can empower and protect your team with the right wallboard technology by contacting Geomant today.
