Cybercrime is a dynamic entity, with criminals seemingly one step ahead as they evolve a never-ending stream of malware, viruses, and trojans. However, the science of such activity has recently unearthed a fascinating insight into such breaches: the personalities of those being targeted.
Known as “Cyberchology”, a recent report has shown that a person’s personality impacts their risk level as to whether or not they’ll become a victim of cybercrime. For employers, this raises a whole new level of considerations when ensuring staff are aware of the risks of being online.
For instance:
- Extroverts are more vulnerable to manipulation: Social engineering attacks that rely on deceit and persuasion are more likely to affect those with outgoing personalities.
- Thinkers overestimate their competence: Leading to a vulnerability that allows them to make mistakes., although they’re less likely to fall for an attack via social engineering.
- Sensing types are more likely to fall foul of phishing: As well as having a penchant for taking higher cybersecurity risks.
But on the flip side, all the different personality types have their strengths when it comes to cybersecurity, as well as their weaknesses.
The key take-away for employers is that leaving essential cybersecurity training to an IT department that focuses solely on the technical side might be the very reason attacks continue to happen. When it comes to learning, personality plays a huge part for everyone, therefore the vital messages regarding online safety can’t be taught in a one-size-fits-all manner.
Enter a business-wise approach, one that takes the scientifically proven aspects of “the human factor” into company cyber training.
A New Approach To An Age-old Problem
Ever since the first computer was embraced by industry there’s been a criminal element trying to gain an advantage. However, the key to getting a handle on cybercrime isn’t only about understanding the technical side, it needs an approach that also embraces the human element.
A holistic approach is key, and when it comes to corporate cybersecurity training it appears that current methods may well fall short of taking this newly discovered science into account.
Cue the cyber security services that focus on such a progressive approach. While the momentum of this integrated understanding hasn’t reached full velocity, the evidence is mounting as its effectiveness. Although industry experts have yet to agree on a common method by which personality consideration can be integrated into cybersecurity awareness training, the one thing that is agreed on is the common vulnerability—that of people.
Leading security company, Fast Guard Service, are pioneers when it comes to the very latest in cybersecurity training. From staff briefings right through to a fully serviced, 24/7 monitoring resource with ongoing personnel updates, their industry experts are at the forefront of the very latest science. Even the largest of corporations often fail to have internal IT departments that can fully train staff on the latest developments, let alone have the ability to include personality types into the various education models.
Highlighting current risk will always factor into robust cybersecurity training, and right now it appears that these risks don’t only stem from the outside, but from within every one of your employees. Because of that, a proactive mindset is crucial. Doing so ensures that the likelihood of data breaches be dramatically reduced, simply by combining a more integrated and businesswise approach to the matter.