Author:
Stephen Fowler, Director of Technologies
Stephen writes about this year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month. If you would like to talk about your own cyber security needs, please email him at sfowler@omnicybersecurity.com
Implementing technology addresses a significant number of cyberthreats, but the human factor is often the weakest link. We’ve all sat through plenty of presentations with HR and System Administrators learning about the importance we all play in protecting ourselves and our businesses from cyberthreats. This year for Cybersecurity Awareness Month in the USA, the theme is “See Yourself in Cyber” to highlight that while cybersecurity is complex, it comes down to people.
Organisations of all sizes can take basic steps to protect themselves, such as enabling multi-factor authentication, using stronger passwords, reporting phishing attempts, keeping software updated and regularly assessing your environment with third-party penetration testing. However, empowering your people to protect your organisation with better cybersecurity awareness is the best defence.
At OmniCyber Security, we provide our customers with world class cyber security services, risk assessments and technologies, from penetration testing, PCI DSS, Cyber Essentials and Social Engineering as well as a portfolio of cyber security technologies. In addition to delivering world-class, industry accredited services, we partner with best-in-class technology organisations such as Tenable, Proofpoint, Sophos, Fortinet and Cisco, to name but a few.
According to Proofpoint, who are represented at the USA’s National Crime Agency as a board member, potential attackers to your organisation target humans over computers, and exploiting known vulnerabilities is the primary entry for attacks.
Furthermore, according to Verizon’s 2022 Data Breaches Investigation Report, 82 percent of data breaches had a human element. IBM also noted in its 2022 Cost of a Data Breach report that the two most common initial attack vectors were compromised credentials (19 percent of breaches) and phishing (16 percent).
Security awareness programs still need to strike a balance. They need to be technical, however not so much so that employees lose interest, so implementing a complimentary ongoing solution to reinforce key messages is vital so that employees always continue to think before they click.
Contact OmniCyber Security today to find out how we can can improve your organisation.
