What are the Most Prevalent Obstacles to Cybersecurity?

With Cybersecurity Awareness Month just around the corner, now seems tobe the appropriate time to consider your own business’ cybersecurity. Whilethere are many, many factors that contribute to how protected your business isagainst threats, one of the most impactful and insidious is how receptive youremployees are (or aren’t) to security-centric behaviors.

Let’s take a moment and examinewhat a recent report reveals about this issue.

Oh,Behave! Examines Various Employee CybersecurityPatterns

Oh, Behave! The Annual Cybersecurity Attitudes and Behaviors Report2022 outlines exactly what the title would suggest,and while many of the findings inside show some cause for optimism, others arenot nearly as promising.

For instance, 35% of those thestudy surveyed believed their devices were automatically secure, as compared to39% who disagreed.  Also, 39% of theparticipants agreed the information that describes how to remain secure onlineconfuses them. A third of participants reported that the overwhelm they feel bythis information prompts them to minimize what they do online.

Incidentally, this latterstatistic seems to be predominantly taken up by the younger generationssurveyed—the Millennials and Gen Z—as they agreed at rates of 45% and 39%,respectively, as compared to the Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation, at 29%and 30%. Almost half of Gen Z and Millennials were intimidated by cybersecurityneeds, too, compared to Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generationaveraging about 41% agreeing between the three groups.

Finally, the younger generationslargely felt that remaining secure was “impossible,” with 30% of Gen Zrespondents reporting so. Millennials were near-perfectly split—40% disagreeingwith this statement, 39% agreeing, and the remaining 21% neither agreeing nordisagreeing. Older generations were of the opposite opinion, with Baby Boomersand members of the Silent Generation seeing the prospect of security as muchmore possible, with 61% and 65% agreeing.

Clearly, Cybersecurity Education andTraining is Essential Across the Board

With these numbers laid out likethis, it should be clear that there are some concerns to be addressed, withevery age group presenting some challenges to be overcome… including theirperspective of who is responsible for information security.

While an overwhelming 59% ofrespondents agreed that responsibility for their own cybersecurity fell tothemselves, only 25% felt they were responsible for their workplace’sinformation. Instead, the consensus was that it was the purview of theemployer, with 43% identifying the employer as the most responsible forprotecting information in the workplace.

This is simply not the reality. Everyone needsto be held accountable for cybersecurity in the workplace, as everyone couldpotentially allow an issue to get past. It is therefore important that everyoneis made aware of their responsibility, and that they are trained to properlymaintain the protections you have in place.

We Can Help You Accomplish This

Reach out to us to find out aboutour cybersecurity services, including user evaluation and training. Give us acall at (954) 628-3770. so we can help prepare your team for your cybersecurityneeds.

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