The Human Element of Cybersecurity
Cyberchology is a partnership that has been running since 2019 between ESET and The Myers-Briggs Company, one of Europe’s leading business psychology providers.
Their latest report investigates the attitudes of 2,000 consumers and over 100 Chief Information Security Officers in the UK, with psychological research examining the link between cybersecurity, personality types and stress in a virtual world.
CISOs have reported a 63% increase in cybercrime during lockdown – and with many employees working from home, the report uncovered equally worrying peaks in staff stress levels and online business vulnerabilities.
Over 2/3 of Brits are concerned about their cybersecurity, but unsure how to manage it
47% of employees are concerned about their ability to manage stress during the COVID crisis
80% of businesses have seen an ‘increased cybersecurity risk caused by a human factor’
Stress affects different personality types in different ways, meaning each individual employee has their own specific blind spot when it comes to cybersecurity. As the pandemic has raised stress levels, staff members may be more likely to panic and click on a malicious link or fail to report a security breach to the IT team, depending on their personality type.
This paper encourages businesses to implement a holistic cybersecurity strategy that takes individual personalities into account and provide suitable cybersecurity training.
John Hackston, Head of Thought Leadership at The Myers-Briggs Company, commented: “In order to build a holistic cybersecurity strategy that accounts for the human factor, IT and HR departments must work together. Through the use of psychometric testing and self-awareness tools, HR can help to identify the makeup of teams and pinpoint potential vulnerabilities. IT teams can use this insight to create comprehensive security protocols and a proactive cyber strategy to stay one step ahead of potential threats.”
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