Cybersecurity & End-User Education

The Culprit …

Human error is the main culprit behind security breaches and employees are at the forefront when it comes to keeping them at bay. Human error can be the result of erroneous execution of daily tasks, uninformed decision-making, or a combination of both. Most companies fail to invest in cybersecurity education and when their employees come face to face with a potential attack, they fail to recognize it as such.

Given that human error is considered the number one cause of security breaches the best defense against it, is end-user education. Providing company employees with cybersecurity education can better equip them to detect and even stop a breach before it even begins. But how can companies do this?

Cybersecurity & End-user Education Starting Point ...

Finding topics to cover can be overwhelming because there are so many attack vectors out in the wild. The best thing to do is to focus on one of the most common forms of attacks such as social engineering which gives you plenty of coverage. Social engineering is the most common form of attack companies face and this is where most attackers begin. There are many subcategories to social engineering such as phishing, vishing, baiting, pretexting, and so many more.

Building simple and easy-to-digest educational material around social engineering and its subcategories will help employees understand, recognize, and potentially prevent these types of attacks. Conduct regular training or workshops and promote a security focus work environment to encourage employees to participate.

Human Error …

The two most common human errors are those involving daily tasks and decision-making. Employees are required to make decisions and if not well informed they can make the wrong decision thinking they made the correct one. One example of this is clicking on a link from a phishing email that looks legitimate but it is not. The employee does not know what to look for in phishing emails or the tactics used by attackers. By the employee clicking on that link the network is now compromised.

Human error involving daily tasks can be something like sending an email containing sensitive information to the wrong person. This can occur due to the employee being distracted, tired, or simply because of the suggestion feature most email providers offer. Something so minuscule can place company security at risk of a security breach.

Combating Human Error …

As previously stated, the best way to combat human error is by providing end-user education through workshops or regular training. The material provided should be informative and easy to understand. Take into consideration that everyone has different learning styles and try to incorporate them as best as possible in your workshops or training. Every company operates differently therefore implement solutions to employee tiredness, distraction, etc. that best suits your company's needs.