Human factors heavily influence email security, with individuals' vulnerability to phishing and social engineering playing a crucial role in compromising email systems.
From an employee clicking on a spam link to accidentally giving out their username and password without realizing it, there are numerous ways that human error can quickly become the weak link in cybersecurity.
In this article, we'll dive into the various human elements that impact cyber security, detailing why they can be so drastic, and exploring how your business can put in place methods to reduce the frequency of human error negatively impacting your business.
Phishing and malware are two common practices that malicious actors will use to engage with businesses and fool their employees.
The hope is that an employee will click on a spam link and give away their details or download malware to their work computer.
One known factor that hackers use to inspire employees to click on their links is action bias.
Action bias is a trait of human psychology that inspires people to want to instantly react to any potential threat.
When a hacker emails an employee and says that they need to reset their password because someone is on their bank account right now, they'll be scared into instantly taking action.
The first step toward reducing the impact of human error is to understand exactly where the threat comes from.
Most of the time, businesses will already have a range of cybersecurity tools to keep their employees safe.
Only a select few will slip through the cracks and arrive in an employee's inbox.
While not an exhaustive list, these steps will point your business in the right direction and make sure that you don't lose too much control in the face of a human-inspired security event.
You could have the best security system in the world, but if your employees don't know the first thing about managing their online accounts, it could all be for nothing.
When creating a more robust security posture, you should start by engaging with different employees and teaching them the basics of cybersecurity.
On the contrary, you can simply teach them about what certain threats look like, how to respond to a threat, and how to report any malicious content to their security admin.
While it may seem overly simple, education is the most powerful tool that businesses have at their disposal when it comes to improving employee cybersecurity awareness and, in consequence, the entire security system of your company.
While human elements are one of the leading factors in cybersecurity weaknesses, they don't have to be.
Creating educational programs that teach your employees about the various potential dangers of clicking on links or engaging with content from unknown senders will help to raise awareness and decrease the chance of security events inspired by human error.
Tackling the propensity of employees to create security vulnerabilities is one of the most effective ways of building up a complete and comprehensive security posture.
Once your security isn't being undermined by a few wrong clicks by employees, you'll be in for a much less dramatic 2024.
This Cyber News was published on www.hackread.com. Publication date: Thu, 21 Dec 2023 14:13:06 +0000