By Chuck Minguez, Sales and Marketing Team Lead at ONE 2 ONE IT Solutions

A Technology Solutions feature piece from the 2025/2026 Thriving Magazine issue!

You’re checking your email between meetings, and one pops up from what looks like HR. There’s a new benefits form to review. Just click the link. You’re in a rush, so you do.

Except it wasn’t HR. It was a scammer. And with one click, you may have handed them the keys to your company’s network.

That’s how quickly things can go sideways online. Cyber security awareness at work isn’t just an “IT problem.” It’s everyone’s job. Anyone who uses a laptop, a phone, or even that smart coffee maker on the office Wi-Fi.

What Cyber Security Awareness Really Means

Cyber security awareness isn’t about memorizing jargon or living in fear of your inbox. It’s about learning to spot trouble early and slowing down before you react. Cyber criminals count on people being busy, distracted, or overly trusting. Awareness breaks that pattern.

Think of it this way:

• At home, you lock your doors and don’t hand out spare keys to strangers.
• Online, awareness is locking your digital doors and thinking twice before opening them.

The Most Common Traps

A few tricks show up again and again in real incidents:

• Phishing emails that look legitimate but are fake, often asking you to click a link or “verify” information.
• Weak passwords that are easy to guess, like “Password123” or anything based on your pet, kids, or favorite team.
• Oversharing online, where details about your role, travel plans, or vendors can be used to craft convincing scams.

Once employees know what these look like, they can stop attacks before they start.

A Simple Story with a Big Impact

Emma from accounting receives an email from what appears to be a software vendor saying her payment failed. The logo looks right. The sender name seems fine. But the tone feels a little off and oddly urgent.

Instead of clicking the link, Emma pauses and checks with IT. It turns out to be a phishing attempt designed to steal her login. Because she stopped and asked, nothing bad happened.

That’s cyber security awareness at work: quick, thoughtful decisions that protect the entire company.

Habits That Build a Safer Workplace

You don’t need to be a security expert to make a difference. Small habits add up:

• Pause before you click. If an email feels odd, verify it another way.
• Use strong passwords and MFA. A password manager plus multi-factor authentication is one of the easiest ways to reduce risk.
• Lock your screen. Even if you’re just grabbing coffee or stepping into a quick conversation.
• Report suspicious activity. Don’t delete and move on. Loop in your IT or security team.
• Keep learning. Short, regular refreshers keep security top of mind.

Cyber threats will continue to evolve, but people are always the strongest, or weakest, link. When everyone in the organization stays alert, the business becomes much harder to trick.

The next time an email feels “off,” trust your gut. Don’t click. Ask a question. Double-check. Every safe click (or non-click) keeps your organization a little safer and helps everyone sleep better at night.

About One 2 One IT Solutions

ONE 2 ONE IT Solutions is a Lancaster-based managed service provider (MSP) that helps growing businesses simplify technology, strengthen cybersecurity, and keep their teams productive. For more than two decades, ONE 2 ONE has partnered with organizations across Central Pennsylvania and beyond providing fully managed and co-managed IT support, strategic vCIO guidance, and layered security solutions designed for today’s threat landscape.

From day-to-day help desk support to long-term IT road mapping, ONE 2 ONE focuses on proactive, relationship-driven service. The team works closely with business and community leaders to align technology with real-world goals, whether that means reducing downtime, protecting sensitive data, or planning for growth.

Deeply rooted in the Lancaster community, ONE 2 ONE is committed to giving back through local partnerships, nonprofit support, and leadership initiatives. At every level, the company’s mission goes beyond technology: to help organizations do their best work, confidently and securely, every day.

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