What if I told you that 22% of the average organisation loses up to $13.5 million yearly due to Insider Risks? Would it make you evaluate your current cybersecurity strategy?
Why is it that human factors are something so often ignored, best discussed in a heated debate on some webinar or conference? Yet, the budget rarely stretches to behavioural science.
Technology has been around for many years. We love it because it provides us with a better quality of life; I am not going to lie, it’s fantastic to access more stuff quicker. Now, tell me, have you ever wondered if technology could really replace everything?
Let’s hope not. We all know that even the most sophisticated robots struggle to manage complex relationships or deal with nuance tasks. And that’s why, thankfully, robots have not entirely replaced human beings, as we saw in many beloved movies in the 90s.
So, if robots are not taking over (yet), why do organisations struggle to pay attention to their people when it comes to cybersecurity? Why are they often quick to assign blame and separate themselves from the blamed individual? Wouldn’t it be better to understand the real cause and prevent it?
We understand that we need to train employees to use the technology and identify threats. However, we don’t actually understand what motivates them, how they feel about the organisation, the manager, and completing the site security task required. And this weakness is what hackers use to manipulate and infiltrate organisations!
Evidently, the solution organisations implement to protect themselves should also have a variety of approaches, not just technological. Many would say it’s easier to attack than it is to defend. Still, we have our eye on the ball! We are constantly evaluating how and when an attack might take place.
So, what kind of tools might be helpful for someone needing to consistently check arising as well as the immediate environment for threats?
Build an internal Wall of Defence! The solution is always cooperation and teamwork, giving people the first opportunity to be a part of the organisation’s protection from within, but also to be realistic and take action when there is internal instability – when the wall is shaky.
So, how does one know if their wall is stable? That’s what behavioural science is here for. For thousands of years, psychologists have been working to understand and measure what makes people tick and what are the predeterminants of behaviour. Don’t let your Wall of Defence fall down. Technology is a gift we have given ourselves to grow and develop as the human race; let’s use it as our best asset.
Nadine Michaelides
