Your people are the real core of your cybersecurity strategy. Though the technologies you implement play an important role, not a single one will save you from attack if your staff can’t spot and respond to it.
A truly cyber-resilient organization is one with a strong security-first culture. This four-step approach helps you create a collectively cyber-conscious team.
What is a Cyber-Secure Culture?
Just like geographic regions, businesses and institutions tend to act on common beliefs and attitudes shared among the group. Otherwise known as culture.
Workplaces that are said to have a culture of cybersecurity share certain elements, namely: “knowledge, assumptions, norms and values” that lead to cybersecurity-conscious behaviors among the entire organizational workforce.
According to PA Consulting Group, “[t]hese are shaped by the goals, structure, policies, processes, and leadership of the organization.”
In essence, it’s a top down and bottom-up approach to heeding security best practices.
Why Collective Cyber-consciousness is so Essential
There are only two options when it comes to your cyber culture: a resilient one and a vulnerable one. Those who fail to unanimously make cybersafety a priority risk everything.
And while it’s true that cybercriminals target organizations of all sizes, larger enterprises usually come with larger attack surfaces. With more employees to potentially scam, it’s exceedingly critical to have your entire team operating from a security-first place.
If not, you risk hackers finding the weak links in your security chain. Given that 82% of data breaches in 2021 involved a “human element,” the bulk of your cyber defenses are dependent on the behaviors of each individual.
Increased risk aside, data breaches can also set your organization back financially. From ransomware payments and reputation cleanup efforts to class-action lawsuits, these incidents can be a drain on your monetary and productivity resources.
Statistics from these remediation efforts are staggering:
Once a breach has been announced, many companies see a downward trend in the amount consumers are willing to pay for their goods and services. The lost market share can spook future investors, decrease business valuation, and make acquiring new customers (or retaining them) more expensive.
4 Building Blocks of a Strong Cybersecurity Culture
Cyber-secure work cultures don’t happen by accident. They need to be intentionally built and cultivated.
To drive cybersecurity as a top priority at every level of your organization, implement some version of the following:
Essentially, you’ll never regret nurturing a solid cybersecurity culture. When your people step up as the protectors of your business, everyone wins.