People’s perceptions have changed. Not so long ago we thought nothing of kids playing outside all day alone, unchaperoned visits to a friend’s house, walking to school alone – the list goes on. But as times have changed, we have become much more vigilant about personal safety. The same can be said for the online world. The majority of us are well-aware of cybercrime and are generally on our guard for suspicious emails and websites. Yet despite this everyday vigilance, social engineers find ways to take advantage of our online behavior.
Cybercrime: We are already suspicious
When it comes to business IT security, company leaders generally want to establish a strong cybersecurity culture within their organizations. It’s a very natural thing to do. Human resources department training typically focuses on awareness and highlights typical mistakes that open the doors to a business’ systems and data. It shines a spotlight on what it means to be aware. But conducting security awareness training is not enough to reduce risk completely. Why? The truth is that most people are already “cyber aware.” We have all already formed an opinion on cybersecurity, and whom we trust.
Just think about it. How often do you hear a knock on the door these days, except from an unexpected visitor? A generation ago, a ringing doorbell was nearly cause for celebration. Everyone in the house leaped into action in near perfect unison. But people’s attitudes have changed. We are now not just suspicious, but actually distrustful, of people knocking on our door. We are conscious that not everyone who calls to the door nowadays is legit. It’s born out of the fact that we are aware of the many door-to-door scams or have been a victim of a cold caller ourselves. Besides, due to smartphones, we already know in advance if someone is dropping by – anyone else is considered an uninvited caller. In this way, the escalation of increasingly invasive marketing and social networking manipulation, coupled with technology that makes us easier to track and easier to target, has driven a culture-wide sense of security awareness.
The same can be said for cybersecurity. Nearly everyone is aware of the classic Nigerian 401 scam. In return for a few thousand dollars, email recipients are guaranteed several million in return. Word spread already years ago that this, and many others like it, was a scam; and people now ignore such basic scams out of habit. Like the bogus salesmen calling to the door, we already have a heightened sense of awareness, causing us to be more cautious.
Cybersecurity training: Awareness alone doesn’t solve the problem
There is no question that awareness of cybersecurity is high now and has been for a couple of years – and that’s a good thing. The problem is that while cyber security training within an organization is well intentioned, it is solely invested in creating awareness. At this point, however, we are way past awareness. People are already suspicious of bogus email, SMS messages and calls.
The real focus should be on personal attack surface, e.g. the aforementioned data that makes us easier to track and to target. Attention needs to be given to the significance of personal information, the sharing of it and how to defend it. While we are “aware” cybercrime exists, many of us may not fully understand the implications of actions that open the door to cybercrime. This is partially why social engineering and other large-scale data breaches are often so successful – and you only need to look at the stats.
A 2017 Tenable survey found that nearly all participants were aware of security breaches. What the survey also revealed was that many admitted to not taking some degree of precaution to protect their personal data and have not changed their security habits in the face of a public threat. Not surprisingly, another study from Stanford University and security firm Tessian revealed that nine in ten (88%) data breach incidents are caused by employees’ mistakes – and costly ones at that. In 2020 alone, data breaches cost businesses an average of $3.86 million.
So, what, in light of this, are the best steps to start mitigating risk?
Reduce employee burden: Recognition of a person’s attackable surface
When it comes to reducing risk through employee training, businesses need to recognize that many people fall into one of two categories:
- There are those who are very concerned about personal data security. This cohort want to keep their data safe and do not want anyone “messing” with their personal information. They are already very much engaged with cybersecurity – they are not the problem.
- Then there are those who are the reverse. They are not interested in cyber security. They are aware but they don’t feel at risk, and as such are not willing to spend effort on it.
Trying to “convert” the second group of employees to become champions of cyber hygiene or cybersecurity can be, for a want of a better phrase, a waste of time. Until you can put cybersecurity into personal terms for each person, it is nearly impossible to change entrenched habits and opinions.
However, if you can pinpoint which extra-professional avenues of attack are most likely for an individual’s data profile, you may be able to make progress against this skepticism. It’s about recognition of a person’s attackable surface. Concern for one’s own personal safety will always trump concerns for company safety. Or, put in analog terms, you don’t have to convince suspicious people not to answer the phone; you need to convince them not to publish their phone number in the first place. The smarter everyone is about his or her personal data, the more secure the company will be.
Security awareness training is a common corporate exercise – but is no longer enough to reduce risk. By empowering your employees to safeguard their own digital footprints – along with company data – you can start to develop really formidable foes to cybercrime.
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