Minimizing The Impact Of Human Factors In Cybersecurity Errors

Uploaded on 2024-05-28 in FREE TO VIEW

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No matter how iron-clad your cybersecurity system is, a human factor will always be a liability. Just imagine a scenario where you go through all the trouble to install all the antivirus systems, firewalls, etc., only to have tour top employee lose their phone at a crowded bar, come up with a weak password for their account, or send a sensitive file to the wrong person.

While human error can never be completely eliminated, there are a few steps to limit the likelihood of this and minimize the impact (and consequences) of human factors in these cybersecurity matters. Here are the top five methods of how you can do this.

1. Automate Your Cyber Protection With Antivirus

The first thing you need is a method that will actively prevent you from making bad decisions. It’s like putting a limit on your speedometer, or installing a guardrail so that you cannot physically pass a certain risky area.

A similar thing takes place with an antivirus program, and it’s one of the first things you have to do. This is one of the most essential methods of internet safety to be considered, and it’s probably the first thing you had in mind to begin with.

When installed, an antivirus prevents you from downloading, unzipping, or installing a malicious app. Sure, you can put it on hold for an hour, add an exception, or turn it off entirely, but this is so much extra effort that people just give up. After all, you can never protect someone who’s willing to go so much out of their way to put themselves and their device in harm.

An antivirus system also performs regular audits of your system in the form of a scan. You can also instigate a manual scan or make a different scanning schedule. This is one of those things that you do once and don’t have to repeat for the foreseeable future.

2. Minimize Password Rrrors With The Use Of A Password Manager

Password errors are a pretty common cybersecurity liability. Why? Well, there are a lot of reasons why.

First of all, people are lazy. They can’t be bothered to come up with a different password for every account they use. This means that if one of their accounts gets stolen, their entire online presence is compromised.

Second, you have to change your password every 60 or 90 days to enjoy optimal protection. This is where people find themselves at a crossroads and have to choose whether this extra bit of protection is worth the actual extra effort. It’s not a small amount of effort, either. You need a unique password for every single one of these accounts. So, if you use just three accounts (and you’re using a lot more), we’re talking about twelve unique passwords every year.

How many new (never used before) passwords did you come up with this year?

Most importantly, a password needs to be random. However, random passwords are so hard to memorize, especially when you need to come up with so many passwords.

Fortunately, with the use of password management software, all of these problems are solved with little to no involvement on your part.

3. Pick Platforms That Cause Minimum Exposure

Another way to keep yourself safe is just to pick platforms that require as little information as possible. You don’t have to worry about your private info if you’re never asked to disclose it.

For instance, if you don’t want to be spammed by endless strings of emails, you should just pick a platform that allows you to use it, make a purchase, or interact with it without having to give your email.

Registration has numerous benefits, but you should avoid it and still be able to use the platform. Since, on most reports, having to register lists is one of the biggest reasons for a high shopping cart abandonment, most vendors in 2021 allow use without mandatory registration.

Another thing you should do is pick platforms that provide general anonymity. For instance, you can find no ID verification casinos, which would allow you to wager without actually having to disclose your personal information.

Anonymity is also one of the main reasons why people use crypto wallets. After all, you can create one without ever giving your personal name, which makes it ideal for anonymous transactions.

Sure, sharing your private information is not always bad, but there’s no denying that avoiding it is the safer route.

4. Stick To Guidelines

When it comes to corporate digital security, there are two angles you need to consider. From the standpoint of an employee, however, your own safety lies in following the guidelines. If you follow guidelines and a breach still happens, you know you did everything you were asked for, and you know that you can’t be blamed.

If you’re an on-site employee, you can try to minimize work from home and your own devices.

This way, you’ll never be in a scenario where your procedure can be suspected. At the end of the day, it’s cybersecurity that matters, but the truth is that, from the perspective of a regular employee, just being accused of being the one at fault can be a problem enough.

Your boss may assume that you’re at fault and that they’re just lacking evidence. Sure, they cannot penalize you, but the next time around, when it’s time for a review, you can bet that their bias will come to the surface.

When you just use the device on the premises, they’ll know you didn’t access unauthorized networks, that you didn’t install personal software on the device (this can be diagnosed), etc.

Only ever use company email and licensed accounts for your accounts on cloud-based services. In other words, never use a tool that’s not permitted. Sure, it looks tempting to just send that PDF to your coworker via your personal phone in their Instagram DMs, but this is really not as good of an idea as it sounds.

5. Trust Your Safeguards

If your antivirus is preventing you from downloading a file, it’s probably not doing so out of the blue. At the same time, if your firewall or browser is preventing you from accessing a certain domain without your explicit consent, it’s probably taking these safety precautions for a reason.

In other words, you can set a system that’s as sturdy as it gets, but you always have an option to ignore it. Not taking this option sounds intuitive, but ignoring your own best interest is usually the easier way.

Even in the previous section, we mentioned how important it is to play by the rules, and this is not just so that you aren’t seen as “responsible.” There’s a reason why some of these rules exist, and you need to trust in these rules.

Also, you need to display consistency. Sure, VPNs will protect you, but they will only protect you if you use them every time. If you can’t be bothered to use them every other time, what’s the point?

The Procedure Is Simple; The Key Lies In Consistency

The antivirus will only keep you safe if you keep it updated; one unique password is not enough, leaving too much info online is always a liability, and rules exist for a reason.

The key takeaway from all of this is that cybersecurity is never one and done. This is a continuous effort and continuous effort always requires consistency.

Image: Unsplash

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