Last year, Verizon’s data breaches report showed that “human error” was the only factor with year-over-year increases in reported incidents. The average cost of data breaches from human error stands at $3.33 million, according to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020. Even big companies and government entities have fallen victim to data breaches caused by human error.

Then COVID-19 came along and forced much of the world to work remotely, making the human error problem a greater threat now more than ever.

Some of the biggest problems with human error include negligence, lack of awareness and poor access control. To fix the human error problem, companies must focus on these details with the understanding that people can be your organization’s strongest asset in strengthening cybersecurity when equipped with the right tools and knowledge.

Negligence

According to a report, employee negligence is the biggest cybersecurity threat to U.S. companies. People make mistakes. That’s inevitable. And some of these mistakes can be very costly.

Organizations must focus on preventing such lapses and slips from taking place. That’s why cybersecurity experts are rethinking their approach to trust. Trust is good; without trust, it would be impossible to achieve meaningful collaboration. However, with cybersecurity, trust takes a new dimension.

The Zero Trust model interprets “trust” as a vulnerability. With cybersecurity, there is no invincibility. That’s why even organizations with the best cybersecurity systems must continue to watch their backs. With Zero Trust, every login is verified and every activity monitored (without prying) as cybersecurity adapts to the new dynamism of the digital workplace.

Mind you, Zero Trust is a principle (a philosophy, if you wish), and thus there are no designated Zero Trust tools, per se. Even so, certain technologies such as a software-defined perimeter and secure web (Read more...)