listen to this articleLast year, the National Institute of Standards and Technology introduced new updates to its approach to cybersecurity. According to NIST, such an approach recognizes the intersection of security, human factors, cognitive science, and psychology.
Some IT support service providers know that cybersecurity involves more than just technology. A comprehensive approach to digital defense also takes human behavior into account, as cybercriminals often exploit humans to carry out attacks.
Consider how cyber fraud such as ransomware, social media scams, phishing, and cloud security breaches trick people into making mistakes.
They tap into emotions such as curiosity, fear, desire, anger, and anxiety. The goal is to make people share personal information or lose money. Although many organizations focus on technology to protect against these and other threats, most cybersecurity breaches are caused by human error.
One reason for this is that companies are moving quickly and employees are cutting corners to keep up. This can cause important warnings about ransomware and other dangers to be missed. Working from home also increases security risks from unsecured devices, unauthorized software, and cloud applications, making cyberattacks more likely.
But companies that prioritize their employees in the best cybersecurity programs can create a strong digital defense culture. By investing in the skills and knowledge of their employees, companies can improve their overall ability to combat cyber threats. Here are some tips for doing this.
Let's start with our cybersecurity posture. How is information handled across the organization? Are all departments focused on digital defense, or do their values differ? What about third-party vendors and channel partners? Cybersecurity Consultants helps you identify and fix vulnerabilities in your system by reviewing your system and implementing solutions.
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Identify and investigate threats. Create a prioritized list of threats and test scenarios based on key risks. Leverage third-party experts to simulate real-world attacks and assess whether your employees will be affected. Understand how stressful environments and different levels of sophistication affect their responses. Simulations can help you design more targeted security awareness training programs.
Assess employee awareness. Are certain departments more prone to overconfidence or other biases? Keep this in mind as you and your third-party partner design your security awareness training program.
Formalize and prioritize your list of threats. Once you have identified weaknesses, create a ranked list of threats. Based on this, third-party IT partners can help simulate real-world attacks and assess employee response. You can increase the effectiveness of your security awareness training program by setting up gamified phishing and other simulations.
Promote an atmosphere of curiosity and critical thinking. It's more than just explaining how to handle a particular situation. Encourage employees to be cautious and aware and provide training in analytical skills to enhance these qualities. This approach helps you deal with unexpected crises and disruptions.
Check your employees' reactions. Don't just “score and forget” employee responses to phishing and other test simulations. Rather than just looking at the results, let's think about what specific problems are occurring and what they have in common. Then create training for individuals and groups to solve the problem.
Keep checking your answers and be ready to redesign your processes and training. Test and adjust your training and processes regularly. The bad guys are continually improving their game, and you should do the same.
Automate where necessary to reduce human error. Although relying entirely on technology can be risky, automation can supplement human activity. Tools like spam filters, encryption, access rules, and password management help prevent human error. AI-powered security tools monitor your network for anomalous activity and identify potential vulnerabilities that security experts can further investigate.
Cybercriminals never rest, but organizations that work with trusted cybersecurity providers are more likely to stay ahead of malicious attackers.
Carl Mazzanti is president of eMazzanti Technologies in Hoboken, which provides IT consulting and cybersecurity services to companies ranging from home offices to multinational corporations.
