Cybersecurity Is Just A Lot Of Trouble For The General Public
This is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, but a new study suggests that many of the general public have thrown in the towel and given up.
The detailed study, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), suggests that the public is suffering from “security fatigue” and a feeling of helplessness when it comes to their online security.
NIST proposes a three point plan to ease security fatigue and help users improve their behaviour when it comes to online security:
First: Limit the number of security decisions users need to make
Second: Make it simple for users to choose the right security action
Third: Design for consistent decision making whenever possible
As report co-author Mary Theofanos explains, instilling some good habits is essential. It safe behaviour becomes habitual, then when we feel swamped by the craziness of the online world we will at least fall back into habits that have been designed to protect us, rather than put us at greater risk.
And it is important to take some of the tricky decisions away from the users. The goal should be for doing the right thing to be the easy choice, and it being much harder to do the wrong thing. And, of course, to help users recover when the wrong thing happens (as they surely still will sometimes!)
We are all now in the lucky position to not only have powerful computers in the workplace and at home, but even carried in our pockets everywhere we go. Our increased interconnectivity might open us up to more opportunities for attack, but the technology we have alongside us can play a significant part in making things simpler and safer.
Many of the respondents in the quotes given above, for instance, relay issues related to passwords, PINs and security measures to access accounts.
The typical person does feel exhausted at the prospect of having to ensure that their passwords are not just unique, more than 20 characters long, and compiled of a gobbledygook random collection of letters, characters and numbers, let alone the challenge of remembering them.
But that’s where computers and smartphones come in. The most common question I am asked by members of the public is “I know I’m supposed to have lots of different, complex passwords… but how am I supposed to remember them?”
Well, good news! You’re not supposed to remember them. In fact, if you can remember them you’re probably doing it wrong! Instead, invest in a decent password manager which will securely store your passwords for you and even generate properly random, complex passwords when you need to create a new account online.
Password management software can be used to not just remember your login passwords, but also your PIN numbers and the answers to those impossible questions your bank sometimes asks about your mother’s French teacher’s maiden name.
If we take the time to explain, and demonstrate the benefits that secure practices can bring, then we can increase the chances of regular non-technical members of the public embracing online safety.
After all, when designed and implemented properly, the whole point about security solutions should be to reduce stress and fatigue.
