Employees Are The Biggest Cyber Security Risk

Businesses are constantly at risk, whether it’s from website data breaches, cyber-attacks or malicious emails and employees are often the biggest cyber security risk. 

Companies can invest significant resource into cyber security but often overlook the risks their staff represent. Attacks have increased during lockdown as hackers seek out weaknesses created by the immediate shift to working from home for millions of people.

Symantec found that 71% of all targeted attacks started with phishing scams. These are emails sent by criminals that look to have been sent by a legitimate company and ask for sensitive information. Often, these contain a link within the email which takes you to a very believable, fake website with a form for you to input your details. This information is then sent to straight to the crooks who created the website, ready for them to sell or use your data. They may ask for passwords, credit card details or usernames, anything they can use to sell or use illegally.

Although many companies are spending money on cyber security technology they can be less willing to invest in training their staff. According to the exoerts at IT security firm Altinet, 90% of cyber threats come via email, highlighting the imporatnce of training  front line staff to be allert and spot phishing attacks, ofetn acting as the last line of defence.

This is particularly important right now as businesses face more threats from the disruption caused by Covid-19.

Your employees may not be aware of the risks of using any device, work or personal, on an unsecured network. This could be the free Wi-Fi in the local café or on the train to a business meeting. These types of connections may not encrypt your data, meaning it could be intercepted and fall into the wrong hands. Where data is sent in an unencrypted format, such as plain text, you are allowing crooks access to potentially sensitive and valuable information.

Accessing emails and social media is a risk on an unsecured network as you could unintentionally leak passwords or other sensitive information. While accessing a banking app could open up your bank accounts to criminals hacking the network.
Cyber-crime isn’t expected to lessen over the next few years. By 2025, the number of interconnected devices in use is projected to exceed 75 billion, opening up virtually endless opportunities for criminals to attack. 

While your employees may pose a security risk, with the right training you can reduce the risk of falling victim to cyber-crime. The important thing is to assess your business, uncover any weak points and communicate the best processes to all staff.

Business Desk:        Open Access Government:       RiskandInsurance:     IT Governamce: 

You Might Also Read: 

Every Single Employee Requires Cyber Security Training:

Staff awareness training is the single most important thing you can do to reduce the risk of employee error. And as business need cyber security training and we at Cyber Security Intelligence recommend GoCyber training for all employees and management please contact Cyber Security Intelligence for a free trial.