Cyber risks at work

“That never happens to me!” That’s what many people seem to think when it comes to cyber risks. Yet we take cyber risks more often than we think, even in the workplace.

What is cyber risk?

The risks of human error in cybersecurity are diverse and can lead to severe consequences for a company or individual. Some examples of risks that can arise from human error are: 

• Failure to follow security procedures, such as not locking the computer when not in use.
• Installing malware or viruses on the system by clicking suspicious links or downloading software from untrustworthy websites.
• Giving access to confidential information to unauthorized persons, for example, by sharing passwords or providing access to secure systems.
• Using weak or easily guessed passwords that can lead to brute force or phishing attacks.
• Failure to regularly update software and security systems can lead to vulnerabilities in the system. 

It is meaningful to train employees to be aware of these risks and to take measures to prevent them. In addition, a cybersecurity system ensures that your company is well protected against external attacks so you can work in a safe working environment from all sides.

How do you prevent human cyber risks? 

There are several ways to prevent human cyber risks. First, you need to educate employees about cybersecurity risks and security procedures. This can be done, for example, through education, presentations or training. It is also influential to let employees know the consequences of not following security procedures and making human errors.

Not only humans pose cyber risks!

In addition to human error, various cyber risks can lead to cyber-attacks. Some examples of such risks are:

• Viruses and Malware: These are malicious software that can be installed on the system and can lead to system damage, data extortion or loss of confidential information.
• Technology Vulnerabilities: These are software or hardware vulnerabilities that hackers exploit to gain access to the system.
• Phishing Attacks: Attacks where hackers try to obtain sensitive information through fake emails or websites that resemble trusted sources.
• Network breaches: Attacks where hackers try to gain access to a network, for example, through a remote connection or performing a man-in-the-middle attack.
• Brute force attacks: These are attacks where hackers try to gain access to a system by using automatic password-guessing tools.

As you can see, everything can go wrong in cybersecurity! Therefore, you want to create clear security procedures, which you communicate to all employees. This may include, for example, using passwords, opening suspicious links or downloading software from untrustworthy websites. It is also important to regularly update software and security systems to avoid vulnerabilities in the system.

Finally, procedures only work when people know them and apply them. That is where regular security awareness training such as Guardey comes in.

What is Guardey?

Guardey is a security awareness training platform for organisations that want to lower their human cyber risk. Every employee gets a weekly gamified challenge of about three minutes, so knowledge about phishing, passwords and other threats stays fresh all year instead of fading after a single course. Because so many cyber attacks start with a person, that is where Guardey puts its focus.

Cybersecurity attacks have become a growing problem for companies of all sizes in recent years, and it is critical to take steps to prevent them. According to some estimates, the percentage of cyberattacks targeting small businesses has increased in recent years. In addition, small businesses are often less prepared for such attacks and often have fewer resources to defend against these attacks, which can lead to serious business consequences. 

Teams compete on a leaderboard, phishing simulations are included, and the reporting shows per team where the risk sits, in a format auditors accept for NIS2, ISO 27001 and more than 40 other frameworks. Guardey is a European company, keeps its data in the EU and is available in many languages. You can try it free for 14 days.