October is a month that generates much buzz amongst the cybersecurity community. It’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) – a time when security professionals work around the clock to raise awareness of growing cyber risks amongst general user communities.
This is especially important in an era where human-related cyber threats are at an all-time high. From intentionally malicious insiders to unmindful employees prone to accidents, these threats can have significant consequences on companies of all sizes. Ongoing high-profile breaches have brought this issue of insider threats into the spotlight. For example, last year, social media giant Twitter fell victim to an unintentional breach caused by an unsuspecting insider threat. In this case, cyber attackers took advantage of the recent remote work trends to conduct one of the most prominent hacks of the year. After impersonating Twitter information technology staff, cyber attackers were able to convince employees to share their account details. The culprits then used this info to log into user’s accounts and change the credentials of several high-profile accounts, including presidents, government officials, and celebrities.
Needless to say, employees and contractors can sometimes pose the greatest risks to an organization. Many professionals in the cybersecurity space even argue that insider threats are more concerning than external cyber threats. All of this is a stark reminder that in the hybrid work reality that most companies operate in today, educating employees on cybersecurity best practices is critical to reducing insider threats.
That’s the main value that a robust NSCAM program can bring to organizations of all sizes.
