Security FYI for Business Owners
You probably prepared your business for all sorts of risks with insurance, licenses, locks, and alarms, but you might not have fully prepared for your biggest risk: your people. According to research conducted by cybersecurity company Mimecast, 95% of data breaches were caused by human error. Here’s what business owners need to know to ensure their teams are a solid defense and not a weak link.
Over 71% of New Hires Fall for Phishing Attacks
New research from Keepnet finds new hires are far more likely (44%) to fall for phishing attacks and other social engineering exploits than longer-term employees; researchers found that in their first 90 days on the job, 71% of newbies click on a phishing message. The reasons are straightforward, experts say. New users are unfamiliar with their employer’s cybersecurity protocols. Onboarding can be an overwhelming process, so it’s easy to miss key security steps. And new employees tend to comply with requests to make a good impression.
The AI Security Problem: Workers Don’t Know How to Use It
Artificial intelligence is creating security woes for employers, and a new report from GoTo may help explain why: employees don’t understand AI or use it to its full potential. In the study, 86% of respondents admit they’re not using AI tools to their full potential, and 82% say they aren’t very familiar with how AI can be used practically in their day-to-day work. Researchers say this can easily lead to security gaffes by workers who don’t understand that intellectual property fed into AI can be accessed by anyone.
Can You Count on MFA? FBI Issues Warning
Multifactor authentication is a good thing, and we continue to urge you to use it wherever it’s offered as an additional security step. However, it’s not a panacea. Recently, the FBI issued an alert about a surge in MFA bypass attacks, mainly by a hacking group dubbed Scattered Spider. These hackers use social engineering tactics to trick IT help desks into adding their own MFA devices to legitimate accounts. This allows the bad guys unauthorized access despite MFA protection. The best advice for all computer users? Make use of MFA as part of your security hygiene, but realize that no tech is bulletproof.
