According to Hacker News, human error is the leading cybersecurity threat to businesses in 2021.
But what is human error exactly? It’s an internal threat that causes unintended harm. Basically, it’s a mistake someone makes. This could be anything from forgetting a password to accidentally deleting important files. Human error can cause severe problems for any business and understanding how human error happens will help you avoid costly future mistakes..
Here are some common human errors to watch out for.
Poor Management of Data
When an internal human error occurs, it can be frustrating for employees to recover their accounts.
If your company requires important passwords or keycards to access certain building areas, make sure these are stored in a secure location.
Allow only authorized personnel to access these passwords or keycards to make it easier to trace a breach when it occurs.
When there’s no clear management of such accounts, important information can easily leak to hackers and put your company at risk.
Poor Usage and Management of Passwords
It’s human nature to make mistakes, but not selecting and using a secure password is an easy mistake to skip. To help users avoid making mistakes with passwords, admins should set password policies that dictate how users create passwords.
Passwords should be long and complex. Some applications may even allow admins to set policies around two-factor authentication, forcing users to have yet another layer of security preventing unauthorized account access.
Insufficient Software Security
Data breach often happens because admins become careless about updating their systems.
Policies should dictate when and how systems are updated and admins should be expected to follow them.
This is yet another form of user error that’s easy to avoid simply by ensuring that employees have the proper training and are expected to follow protocols carefully.
Accidental Deletion
Far too often employees accidentally delete crucial data. The issue is this problem isn’t always one you can train for–people will continue to make this mistake no matter how much education they receive.
That’s why it’s crucial for businesses to take regular backups of their data. This way, if something is mistakenly deleted, it’s easy for users to recover the data they need quickly.
Conclusion
Human error will always be one of the biggest risks your company faces. That’s why it pays to take preventative measures such as using backups, anti-virus, and even foolproof security solutions that help cover your back when someone inevitably makes a mistake.
And if you’re looking for a way to get bullet-proof encryption in a drive that’s easy enough for anyone to use, you might consider DataLocker. Their drives ensure that data is inaccessible to bad actors, even if a user accidentally loses a drive.