Insider Threats: When Your Firewall Security Can't Protect You

In 2018, not even the stapler stands alone. If companies can connect it, digitize it, mobilize it, or drop it in the cloud, they are taking full advantage. According to a survey conducted by market research firm Vanson Bourne, this hyperconnect and hypermobility will continue. Companies already store nearly half of their data in a cloud, and expect that figure to increase to 57% by the end of 2018. What are the implications of this for your company’s firewall security?

The upside of all this mobility and connection is better access for employees, no matter where they are in the world. The downside that cannot be ignored, however, is that company data is becoming more and more difficult to secure. What happens, then, when the firewall built to keep security threats from entering your company’s network is doing its job, but it’s not enough? What if the greatest security threat may be an inside job? That is, a security blind spot that wasn’t on anyone’s radar?

Better network visibility is what IT is striving for, to remedy these blind spots. Greater visibility enables better security.

The biggest blind spot is so close it’s sitting next to us--or even staring back at us in the mirror. Employees are still the weakest link in any security defense. IBM has been preaching about this since at least 2014 when its Cyber Security Intelligence Index reported that 95% of incidents were a result of human error. Time and again, hackers use calculated tactics to gain employee trust and encourage them to click on malicious links, authorize wire transfers and enter their details into fake websites. The best remedy to this blind spot is employee education, thus building up Human Firewall Security

Here are a few pointers to share with employees, to help fortify The Human Firewall:

• Abandon the “nothing will happen to me” mindset.
• If an e-mail request seems urgent, regard it with suspicion. Better to forward an e-mail to IT than reply in haste and cause a security breach.
• Use extreme caution when clicking on links within the body of an e-mail.- Use extreme caution when opening email attachments.- Use different passwords for online accounts.

Of course, email filtering, gateways and antivirus software are all still critical defenses. However, with regular security awareness training, employees become part of this defense, rather than the weakest link.

Thinking about taking the next steps toward fortifying human firewall security? If you’re in the Boston area, join us and discover best IT practices and new opportunities for your business at our IT Symposium of Awesomeness.