High-Risk Employee Behaviors Jeopardize Security

Entrepreneur recently published a story about the habits of highly hackable employees. The story cites the Intermedia report that found 93 percent of employees engage in at least one form of poor data security. And 23 percent of respondents admitted they would steal data from their employer if it would benefit them. IT teams, longtime employees, even C-suite execs all exhibit bad behaviors that could put the organization at risk. A fake CEO email scam cost an Austrian aerospace manufacturer $47 million and the CEO was subsequently fired. The story highlights 7 habits/employee traits that are leaving businesses vulnerable, including:

  • A lack of education/training.
  • Bad passwords like 123456 and password.
  • Shared logon credentials rather than using personal ones for each user.
  • Downloading unauthorized Software as a Service programs without IT approval.
  • Using their own personal cloud storage file for company files.
  • Accessing company data after leaving a job.
  • Accidentally sharing confidential information via email.  

As the story says, “Not all data breaches or cyber threats are preventable. But a business that arms its workforce with the education and resources to break bad computer habits can operate with greater confidence that the company and its data are safer.”

Read our blog on How You Can Reduce Your Company’s Risk of a Data Breach here.

 

Are you covered for identity theft?

Get Covered

Image: Pixabay