Employees Are the Weak Link In Data Protection

Millions are spent by U.S. corporations annually on data protection, mostly on software solutions and expert consultation, but the ignorant human remains the single biggest threat, according to Andrew Cavin, blogging on Security Boulevard. No matter how much money they spend monitoring for safety and responding to incidents, organizations are still at risk if they are not developing a culture of security as part of normal business practices. Phishing emails are the greatest danger. They are designed to gain attention, typically contain a call to action and allow criminals to steal consumers’ personal identity data and financial account credentials, among other sensitive information. The average phishing attack costs a mid-size company about $1.6 million. According to the FBI, phishing scams alone cost businesses over $5 billion from 2013 to 2016. Increasing employee security awareness includes both training, and regular assessments to gauge attention to detail and susceptibility to attack.