Why Your Employees Should Not Become Your Biggest Vulnerability?
“Employees are Almost as Dangerous to Business as Hackers and Cybercriminals,” according to a piece published by TechRepublic a couple of years ago. You might think it is simply incorrect from the business point of view. Your company seeks to hire the best employees it can find – people who are not only good at what they do but also would never compromise the future of their employer.
Many employees, however, do so unintentionally. Your employees are not planning to hack into your network or install malware or ransomware on corporate computers, but still, it happens all the time. According to a Kaspersky survey, 52 percent of firms perceive their staff as their “biggest weakness in IT security.”
What is the source of this flaw? It derives from a variety of factors and varies from company to company, but a large part of it is due to employee behavior.
Human Error
We all make errors. Unfortunately, certain errors might have significant consequences. For example, consider the following scenario: an employee receives an e-mail from his employer. The supervisor wants the employee to purchase a number of gift cards and then e-mail the gift card numbers to him as quickly as possible. Perhaps a message like “I trust you with this” may instill a sense of urgency in the employee.
The main issue is that it is completely fake. A scammer has created a fake e-mail address similar to the manager, supervisor, or other company leaders and using it on their behalf. It is a hacking fraud that actually works. Although this does not essentially compromise your internal IT security, it does highlight knowledge gaps among your employees.
Cybercriminals sending files or links that install malware on the business computer is another popular example, which is also done via e-mail. The crooks disguise the e-mail as a real message from a firm employee, a vendor, a bank, or another firm having acquaintance with the particular employee.
Employees can get tripped up by that familiarity. All cyber criminals need to do is instill a sense of urgency, and the employee will unconsciously click the link.
Carelessness
When an employee clicks a link without understanding about it, this occurs. It could be either due to a lack of training or absolutely no comprehensive IT security policy within the organization.
Unsafe browsing habits are another example of negligence. Employees should always utilize the safest method available while browsing the web, whether for research, work-related purposes, or personal reasons. Ask your employees to stay away from “bad” websites and avoid clicking any link they cannot verify (for example, ads).
Although bad websites are reasonably controversial, any web user should search for the letter “https” at the beginning of any web URL. The “s” indicates that the website is secure. If that “s” is missing, the website is not secure enough. As a result, you cannot ensure the security of sensitive data you enter onto that website, such as your name, e-mail address, contact information, or financial information, and it may fall into the hands of cybercriminals.
Poor password management is another example of carelessness. People frequently use easy passwords and the same passwords across several websites. If your employees do this, you may be putting your company at risk. Who knows what hackers might be able to access if they get their hands on any of those passwords? Every company should have a stringent password policy.
Turning Your Weakness into Strength
Education is the most effective strategy to overcome human weaknesses in your IT security. An excellent place to start is an IT security policy, but it must be followed and understood. Employees must understand not only what behaviors are inappropriate but also need to understand the existing threats. In addition, they need resources they can completely trust to deal with certain risks effectively and efficiently. Working with an MSP or IT services business may be the best option; they can facilitate you in laying the foundation for converting this weakness into a real strength.