Across the world, enterprises are becoming increasingly aware of cyber threats. Modern cyber threats include malware, ransomware, phishing (a type of social engineering attack), and various other potent cyberattacks. All of these cyberattacks can result in data breaches, every enterprise’s worst nightmare. Slowly but surely, businesses are elevating information security as a top priority. According to McKinsey, the amount businesses spend on cybersecurity is increasing by 12.4% every year.
To address security risks and protect sensitive data, businesses are implementing cybersecurity programs and leveraging a variety of security tools. However, there is one risk that can undo a strong cybersecurity plan: untrained or poorly trained employees. In this post, we will take a closer look at how employee errors can impact network stability, security, and business reputation.
Why are employee errors so dangerous?
In a world with countless cyber risks, why should businesses focus on untrained employees? It’s because employee errors and inconsistent security practices can help cybercriminals conduct security breaches. Many simple, everyday actions that employees may take can end up compromising data privacy and amplifying security threats.
Hackers around the world are aware of employee-related vulnerabilities and wait to strike at opportune moments. To protect sensitive information, businesses must ensure that strategies to mitigate errors are a major part of their cybersecurity risk management plans.
According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach 2023 Report, the mean time to identify (MTTI) a data breach is significantly more for employee-related attack vectors. The top 5 attack vectors on this list are all employee-related:
- Compromised credentials (with an MTTI of 240 days)
- Malicious insiders (228 days)
- Social engineering (218)
- Phishing attacks (217 days)
- Stolen devices (205 days)
Remember that these attack vectors don’t always involve dramatic security incidents. In many cases, a simple employee error can have a profound snowball effect.
The 12 Most Common and Dangerous Employee Errors
As we established in the previous section, all businesses have numerous cybersecurity threats to deal with. Many of these potential threats stem from employee errors. The following are some of the most important errors that employees must be aware of and avoid at all costs.
Clicking on Random Email Links
Clicking on malicious links in emails is one of the most common scams that employees fall for. These links could potentially route employees to dangerous websites and introduce new exploitable vulnerabilities into enterprise networks.
Downloading Malware
Employees must be aware of what files they download from the internet. In many cases, files that look legitimate might contain malware. Remember that malware includes any software that threat actors use to compromise an enterprise’s physical or virtual IT infrastructure or steal sensitive data. Therefore, by accidentally downloading malware, employees put their enterprises at great risk.
Creating Weak Passwords
All cybersecurity guidelines establish the importance of strong passwords and multi-factor authentication (using two or more forms of authentication). However, many employees still ignore password protocols and create weak passwords. By creating passwords like “12345” or “password”, employees can get their organizations into serious trouble.
Using Unapproved Personal Devices
In recent times, there’s been a shift to hybrid work models like work-from-home. Due to such work models, employees increasingly use personal devices (such as mobile devices and laptops) to connect to enterprise networks. Those who abide by endpoint security protocols can do so without causing harm. However, employees who use personal devices without the necessary safeguards can cause endpoint-related data breaches.
Ignoring Social Media Security Risks
On a day-to-day basis, many employees log on to social media websites like Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Some of this social media activity may involve work, and others may be personal. Social media platforms are rife with cybercriminals that prey on unsuspecting employees. Therefore, while social media usage is a necessary part of modern life and business, enterprises and their employees must acknowledge its cybersecurity implications.
Failing to Report Suspicious Incidents
Employees may stumble upon irregularities within the enterprise network. This could include unusual account behaviors, strange endpoint activity, and signs of a breach. To ensure a quick and efficient incident response, employees must immediately report these activities. However, many employees fail to do so, which can allow small security incidents to mature into large-scale security disasters.
Forgetting to Encrypt Sensitive Information
Data encryption is a critical element of robust cybersecurity programs and frameworks. For example, data encryption is an important part of the zero trust security architecture. Businesses commission encryption tools so that their employees can encrypt data before sending or storing it. However, employees often fail to encrypt data. When this happens, a data breach will end up causing significantly more financial and reputational damage.
Falling for Phishing Scams
Phishing emails are everywhere. In a phishing email, cybercriminals impersonate a legitimate person or organization to try and get employees to divulge sensitive information or send high-value data. Employees must be careful when responding to emails, especially those from unknown or suspicious senders.
Neglecting Software Updates
Only updated and hardened software can keep an enterprise safe from cyber threats. Businesses can update certain enterprise-wide software from a centralized panel. However, for many other small software and applications, it’s the employees’ responsibility to download patches and update regularly. If employees fail to update their applications, threat actors can take advantage of software vulnerabilities.
Bypassing Security Policies
Cybersecurity policies are in place to ensure that enterprise networks are out of harm’s way. However, it’s up to the employees of an organization to follow these security policies and guidelines. Irrespective of how efficiently enterprises implement security policies, cybercriminals can infiltrate IT environments due to employee errors.
Commissioning Unauthorized Tools
Typically, an employee has to work with IT and security teams to commission and use software and tools such as productivity and video conferencing apps. However, it’s not uncommon to see employees downloading and using unauthorized tools. This is because many employees don’t want to go through long processes to commission tools and would rather download a quicker solution. Threat actors can target these unauthorized tools (known as shadow IT) and the worst part is that cybersecurity teams will not know until it’s too late.
Solely Relying on Cybersecurity Technology
Cutting-edge cybersecurity tools and technologies can go a long way in stopping cybercrime. However, technology isn’t the be-all and end-all of cybersecurity. One of the most important pillars of cybersecurity is the human pillar. It’s also the most vulnerable pillar. Therefore, one of the most fatal errors an employee could make involves neglecting security practices and behaviors and solely relying on the tools and technologies in place.
How can cybersecurity guidance and training help reduce employee errors?
As the above list of employee errors highlights, cybersecurity programs, tools, and technologies can’t mitigate cyber risks on their own. Businesses must acknowledge the weaknesses of their human pillar. While employees are both the bedrock and the engine of an organization, their errors can cause widespread and long-lasting damage. Therefore, cybersecurity awareness training programs are essential.
A holistic cybersecurity training program should feature the following:
- Cybersecurity best practices - so that employees can support their enterprise’s cybersecurity plan with safe and responsible practices.
- Cyberattack simulations like phishing simulations and phishing tests - for employees to know what real-world attacks look like and how to respond to them.
- Compliance training - for employees to ensure that organizations fulfill compliance requirements like GDPR, PCI DSS, CCPA, and HIPAA.
- Gamified training content with quizzes and interactive elements - so that employees engage with their cybersecurity training modules rather than treat it as a box-ticking exercise.
Cybersecurity guidance and training help bridge the gap between IT teams and end users. No enterprise should solely rely on its tools or IT/security teams. Instead, security should be a democratized practice, one that every single employee upholds. The best way to do that is by designing and implementing security awareness training programs.
By prioritizing employee training, businesses can nurture a positive and proactive security culture. For employees, training courses will ensure that cybersecurity doesn’t come at the expense of productivity or job satisfaction.
Conclusion
Businesses are nothing without their employees. However, employee errors are a cybersecurity nightmare that can undo even the most comprehensive cybersecurity programs and plans.
In this post, we looked at employee errors like clicking on random email links, downloading malware, creating weak passwords, using unapproved personal devices, ignoring social media security, and failing to report suspicious incidents.
We also looked at errors like forgetting to encrypt sensitive data, falling for phishing scams, neglecting software updates, bypassing security policies, commissioning unauthorized tools, and solely relying on cybersecurity tools and technologies.
The best way to reduce employee errors is by providing cybersecurity guidance and training programs for employees. By doing so, businesses can mitigate a diverse range of cybersecurity risks while keeping their employees happy, fulfilled, and productive.
Categories: Security, Cyber Security, Network Security, Proactive Network Security, IT Security, Cyber Attack, Cybersecurity, Employee Training, Cyber Security Training