One key reason why cyber-attacks are successful is that people do not realize what they are and how to protect themselves from them. That’s being taken full advantage of by attackers. Some reports reveal that 68 percent of salespersons get victimized by online scams, and phishing attacks on businesses mushroomed to three times in 2024. It is the human factor that can endanger a company’s long-term viability and compromise sensitive data. The methods of reducing risks are discussed in this article.
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The Role of Human Behavior in Cybersecurity
For businesses low employee cyber literacy is very risky. From an ‘IT specialist’ phoning an employee saying they need their corporate account password, to an insecure corporate account password, the baddies can access a company’s systems. For a business, such an incident can have unwanted or even critical consequences on sensitive data, such as:
- Leakage of user and corporate data;
- Theft of intellectual property;
- Loss of access to critical information;
- Disruption of IT infrastructure;
- Loss of reputation and fines;
- A complete shutdown of operations.
Thus, if you do not place emphasis on your employees’ knowledge of cyber defense, you may be wasting your efforts to enhance a solid cyber defense. For example, a company could have many technical safeguards in place but may have neither a password policy nor enforce it. This therefore results in employees coming up with passwords that are quite easy to crack.
Another example, there might be specific sets of corporate cybersecurity rules used by an organization, but those are written in a very overly complex and formal way. Your employees will not be using it, because they will believe it is unnecessary bureaucracy.
Risk Groups
Employees who do not work in IT are more likely to engage in actions that jeopardize the company’s sustainability. They can, however, open a malicious email because cybercriminals are so well-prepared. It is possible that cybercriminals have been monitoring the activities of a specific person for a long time, preparing a targeted attack against him or her, and crafting the phishing email in a specific manner. That is why it is critical to raise the level of cyber literacy of all employees in a company, with training tailored to each department’s specific threats.
Business impact analysis can be used to determine when a cyberattack on employees would result in the most significant losses. It provides a comprehensive picture of potential threats, both internal and external, and assists you in determining the potential consequences of incidents, such as property damage, service degradation, or a loss of market position:
- Identifying critical processes and operations that are at risk due to human error;
- Determining the extent of the consequences of an incident;
- Grouping employees involved in these processes into target groups based on occupation and the mechanics of a potential attack on them;
- Developing an action plan for regular training and briefings for each group.
Better Ways to Protect Yourself
To reduce the risk of leaks and hacks, it is critical to implement a layered cybersecurity strategy that includes both technical and organizational safeguards. Here are some proven methods to protect your company:
Managing Access to Data
Access to sensitive data and information should be restricted, and strict access policies should be established for various employee roles. Role definition and user action monitoring are among the features of access control policies.
Cloud-Based Solutions
Cloud solutions have become an essential part of corporate infrastructure, offering convenient and flexible options for data storage and program access and enabling remote work. Some common examples include:
- Project management systems, like Trello or Asana, which allow teams to organize tasks, manage deadlines, and track progress;
- Cloud-based solutions for call centers, like MightyCall, JustCall, and CloudTalk, allow employees to handle customer inquiries from anywhere using the Internet and remote tools.
- Collaboration platforms, such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, provide access to shared documents, email, and calendars from anywhere;
- Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, like Salesforce, help businesses manage client databases, automate sales, and improve customer interactions.
While cloud technologies offer significant advantages, they also come with inherent risks:
- Configuration vulnerabilities. Misconfigured cloud services can lead to sensitive data leaks, especially if weak passwords or a lack of two-factor authentication are involved.
- Dependence on third-party providers. Data security is directly tied to the protection levels provided by the service provider, making it crucial to choose reliable and well-established solutions.
- Susceptibility to cyberattacks. Cloud systems are frequent targets for hackers aiming to access corporate data.
To mitigate these risks, businesses should focus on the following measures:
- Choosing trusted providers. Opt for solutions from reputable companies with strong security measures and a proven track record;
- Regular security audits. Continuously review cloud system configurations, enforce access control policies, and implement robust encryption standards;
- Employee training. Equip staff with the knowledge to work securely with cloud platforms and address human factor risks effectively.
While cloud technologies are indispensable in today’s digital landscape, their benefits come with responsibilities. To harness their full potential, organizations must approach their adoption with a clear understanding of potential threats and a well-defined strategy for minimizing risks.
Regular Updates and Patch Management
Updating software and patching vulnerabilities is an important step in preventing cyberattacks. Malware frequently targets known vulnerabilities, and companies that ignore updates put themselves at risk. Regular software updates and vulnerability scans can help to prevent such attacks.
Importance of Employee Training
Employee training is essential for any company. This is especially true for cyber security specialists. It affects not only the quality of their work but also the overall viability of the business.
What Is a SOC?
The most important thing is to have a well-coordinated team of specialists working on security systems. For this reason, businesses are increasingly establishing a Security Operations Center (SOC) division. Its responsibilities include monitoring, assessing, and protecting corporate IT systems, as well as addressing information and cyber security issues in the enterprise. SOC is a collection of people, processes, and security technologies used to continuously monitor the state of information systems, design and configure them, track undesirable user behavior, and prevent and mitigate cyberattacks on sensitive data.
Practical Training Is the Key to Improving Employee Skills
Where can I find qualified specialists? The answer, it appears, is simple: hire them. However, there is a severe shortage of them on the market. Furthermore, even the most seasoned professionals in today’s world must constantly improve their abilities. One option is to attend professional training. At such events, specialists learn the most recent and in-demand technical skills, how to use new tools, broaden their knowledge base, and, as a result, gain the ability to withstand modern cyber threats.
Companies recognize the value of training and employee education in general. According to a joint ESG and ISSA survey titled “The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals” 42% of surveyed IT professionals believe that additional cybersecurity team members’ courses and training would be most beneficial to their organization’s future cyber threat protection efforts. At the same time, 34% of respondents believe that all IT employees should receive cybersecurity training, and 40% believe that non-IT employees should as well.
However, approaches to learning are critical. Listening to a series of lectures is important and beneficial, but without putting the knowledge gained into practice, a significant portion of the information received will be forgotten. According to the “forgetting curve” of German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, if training information is not consolidated, people forget about 80% of it within 48 hours. The inclusion of practical elements in training significantly improves their effectiveness. Especially in areas like cybersecurity and networking.
Here’s what you should consider when training employees:
Conduct regular simulated attacks on the entire company to determine the actual level of preparedness for a cyber incident. To organize them, you can use off-the-shelf IT solutions that focus on security awareness. Regular training boosts employees’ resistance to phishing by nine times. The implementation of accountability for noncompliance with cybersecurity regulations has the potential to improve training effectiveness.
Training materials and tests should be kept up to date so that employees are aware of new cyber threats in a timely manner. It is best to establish a dedicated corporate communication channel (chat, email, phone) for immediate reporting of suspected incidents and the ability to ask questions of a cyber security specialist;
Teach employees the first steps to take if a cyber incident is suspected, such as not restarting the computer, taking screenshots for security, and immediately contacting an IT specialist.
Best Practices for Effective Training Programs
Due to the pandemic, a large number of employees were required to telecommute. While this had some advantages, the situation for most companies concerned about data security did not improve. Cybersecurity training is now one of the most important tasks for remote workers. Here are seven tips for training employees to protect your business and your sensitive data:
1. Keep the Training Simple
It’s fine if employees don’t understand phishing, SSL encryption, or firewalls. Avoid using a complex, academic presentation style and knowledge that has no practical applications. Training employees on how to respond to cyberattacks is far superior to telling them cybersecurity stories detailing bad cases in some companies’ histories.
2. Discuss the Importance of SSL Certificates
SSL certificates, or Secure Socket Layer certificates, are security protocols that encrypt a website’s connection using a public key infrastructure. SSL prevents cybercriminals from intercepting data sent between your website’s server and the user’s browser. Otherwise, your employees may be exposed to malicious websites, resulting in their systems being compromised and their data stolen.
3. Don’t Allow Employees to Store Unnecessary Sensitive Data
It is impossible to predict when a cyberattack will occur, so it is best to prepare ahead of time with a variety of safeguards. First and foremost, instruct your employees not to store sensitive data or customer information, and you should strictly maintain the confidentiality of stored data.
Do not store everything in your website’s database. Hackers can gain access through weak passwords, poor hosting, and even outdated plugins. Explain to your employees what information to keep and what to discard. Furthermore, keep their access to the admin panel as limited as possible.
4. Do Not Trust Anyone
Yes, your CTO or COO may be your best friend, but it’s still a bad idea to give them access to company information just for that reason. It is also critical to ensure that everyone follows proper password hygiene. Furthermore, the manager should demonstrate and lead by example in terms of responsible cybersecurity.
5. Make Learning Fun
Gamification is the most effective way to improve the enjoyment of learning. Call the first half of your employees cybercriminals (for fun, of course) and assign them the task of hacking into a system, while the other half are tasked with saving the company. This will allow them to better prepare for attacks and understand how cybercriminals think. Furthermore, creating such a scenario will increase the training’s accessibility and engagement.
6. Respect Employee Personal Boundaries
Employees cannot be expected to be available at work at all times. So, before you hold them accountable for a violation, make sure you’re not expecting them to work on their own time.
Unexpected demands for workforce employees to take desperate measures, such as logging in via public Wi-Fi or a friend’s phone to access the domain. Furthermore, you cannot accuse employees of being irresponsible if you violate their personal boundaries by running errands on personal time.
7. Enroll Employees into a Two-Factor Authentication System
Create a two-factor authentication (2FA) system to secure all login pages on your website. Make sure that pages can only be accessed after the user enters a one-time password sent to their registered cell phone number.
When multiple failed login attempts are detected, IP addresses should be blocked and carefully examined. This technique will help even remote employees become more organized and attentive. Furthermore, it will allow you to monitor their activity.
The trend of remote working is becoming more popular, which increases employers’ responsibility to provide all necessary conditions for it. That is why it is critical to develop a dependable organizational infrastructure that allows for the control of each employee while also providing them with the opportunity to work safely.
Measuring Training Effectiveness
Once a training program has been implemented, the question becomes, how do you assess its success? There are several methods for measuring the effectiveness of cybersecurity training:
- Evaluation of security incidents before and after training. One of the most reliable indicators is the change in the number of cyber incidents following training. If the number of incidents is significantly reduced, you can conclude that the training was effective;
- Testing employees. Periodic tests and attack simulations can help you determine how well your employees have internalized information. For example, you could send out fake phishing emails to see how many employees respond;
- Conduct surveys and solicit feedback. Getting feedback from employees is also important. Identifying which aspects were useful and which require refinement can help improve and make subsequent courses more useful;
- Analysis of key performance indicators. Setting specific goals, such as reducing the number of incidents by 30%, will help quantify the program’s success. If KPIs are met or exceeded, it indicates that the training had a positive impact;
- Continue to analyze in the long term. It is critical to monitor how training affects the company’s overall safety culture in the long run, because once trained, employees may gradually lose knowledge.
These methods provide information about the program’s effectiveness and areas for improvement.
What We End Up With
Human element remains a significant part of cybersecurity, and employee training is not an optional extra, but rather a necessary component of protecting sensitive data. Creating a company-specific training program and using proven methods to measure results can help reduce the risks associated with human error while also making a company more secure from cyber threats.
