The Undeniable but Often Overlooked Human Element of Cybersecurity

It is firmly established that there is no such thing as 100% security – in fact, a security breach is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.’ In other words, risk will always exist, and businesses need to shift their thinking from completely neutralizing it (which is impossible) to managing it accordingly. 

Despite this reality, many business leaders unfortunately expect and demand 100% security from their teams. Because such a posture is impossible, companies will settle for a false sense of security to allow their people to function. This mindset is not only incorrect but irresponsible. 

Business leaders must abandon this outdated notion of 100% security and adopt a mindset of risk management. This strategy asks questions about the size of the blast radius and how long it takes teams to detect and remediate. Such an approach also recognizes that humans play a fundamental role in cybersecurity – namely, managing risk – and adjusts strategies and processes appropriately.  

Train General Employees Similarly to Cyber Teams

Despite the need for cybersecurity talent, the global shortage of nearly four million cyber professionals makes hiring difficult. This shortage places pressure on understaffed teams, forcing them to do more with less and consequently increasing burnout. Short of getting lucky and landing a skilled worker, businesses cannot magically solve the talent shortage through hiring alone. However, companies can bolster the security competency of their general employees to take a load off the shoulders of overworked cybersecurity teams. 

Read the full article here. [pg. 51-53]

Learn how EPAM helps organizations ensure operational resilience against evolving cybersecurity threats: https://www.epam.com/services/cybersecurity