Security News > 2021 > June > Student Loans Company splashes out on 20,000 cybersecurity training courses – for just 3,300 employees
The Student Loans Company spent £76,800 on cybersecurity training over its previous two fiscal years - including a sudden and unsurprising interest in security in a work-from-home environment.
"Companies need to spend the time to select training which is appropriate for them and their employees. Simply throwing money at the problem is not going to solve it. We've seen this in security tooling, where some companies attempt to throw loads of money on new tools but without properly evaluating those tools and ensuring that they fit the purpose for their organisation and teams. Training should be no different."
The breakdown of courses includes fees paid to third-party agencies, but not costs involved with internal training developed within SLC itself - such as an anti-money laundering course, which the overwhelming majority of the organisation's staff took in both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021.
The 2020-2021 financial year saw a big spike in training related to one key topic: trusting staff who might not be working in the office any more due to a certain virus.
"We have seen, on numerous occasions, breaches happening as a result of lack of awareness and knowledge. Training helps reduce this, empowering employees to have the appropriate knowledge and awareness to make the right decisions and actions."
An SLC spokesperson told The Register: "Malicious online activity affects every organisation and individual, this has become an everyday part of modern life. As such, cybersecurity will always remain a top priority for SLC, and we will continue to invest in training, technical expertise and the robust resources required to keep our customers' information safe." .