For many businesses, the greatest threat to cybersecurity often comes not from cybercriminals, but from their own employees. Through mistakes, negligence, or lack of education, staff can inadvertently become the source of security breaches. Understanding how human error leads to cyber risks is key to protecting your business.
When it comes to cybersecurity threats, the biggest weakness is often your own staff. Through lack of awareness, careless mistakes, or intentional negligence, employees can become the source of data breaches and cyber-attacks. Understanding where human error creates vulnerabilities is key to securing your business.
Failing to Spot Phishing Scams
One of the biggest cybersecurity risks comes from employees falling victim to increasingly sophisticated phishing scams. Malicious links or attachments in fraudulent emails can install malware, capture passwords, or gain access to company data. Phishing emails impersonate trusted contacts or brands. Without training to spot the characteristics, staff may open and interact with phishing messages that look authentic.
Ongoing training and reminders on identifying phishing emails provides a great defence for your business. Find out about the characteristics of phishing emails here.
Using Weak Passwords
Many data breaches originate from poor password practices. Using simple, easy-to-guess passwords, or using the same passwords for multiple accounts - If a password is guessed for one account, access is gained to all of your accounts. One of the most important things you can do to protect your accounts is to use multi-factor authentication. This means that even if your password has been compromised, access cannot be gained without authentication from another factor such as a code in your authenticator app, or in a text sent to your phone. Find out more about multi-factor authentication here.
Ignoring Software Updates
Vulnerabilities in outdated software can be exploited by cybercriminals. Developers work tirelessly to ensure that the latest software updates provide protection against known vulnerabilities – as more become known, further software updates are released to protect against them. Staff members may routinely ignore update notifications and continue using outdated software, making the business vulnerable to cyber-attacks. It is important to make sure your software is up to date. Contact us if you need advice on updating your devices.
Carelessness with Devices
Breaches can also occur from staff carelessness such as leaving screens unlocked when away from desks and losing company phones and laptops. It is important to make sure that all devices are protected to prevent unauthorised access when left unattended. It is important that you tell your IT helpdesk as soon as possible if a device is lost as if may be possible to remotely add further encryption to protect your data.
Educating your employees about cyber security risks is crucial to avoid these human errors. You can sign up to our email mailing list for regular updates on cyber security risks and how to protect yourself against them here. Contact us if you have any concerns about cyber security at your business.
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About Carrera UK
Carrera UK provide IT support, IT services, and telecoms to small businesses in Portsmouth & Southampton in Hampshire, and across the South of England.
We offer a complete suite of IT and telecoms service solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, including IT support, websites, ecommerce websites, digital marketing, and leased computers and laptops.
We know how important IT is to your business and we will work hard as your trusted IT and telecom service provider to find the best solutions for you. Our IT support and solutions give you the assurance that your business technology will be robust, reliable, and cost-effective.
