Security
Factoring the Human Element into Cybersecurity
The most complicated thing about cybersecurity is often not the technology, but the humans who interact with, manage and implement the technology. When it comes to the human element, human intent and behavior can be leveraged by bad actors through social engineering to execute successful breaches. On the other hand, you can ensure that the end users whom you're trying to protect with cybersecurity tools understand the value of that solution and communicate that value with empathy, not authoritarianism.
We spoke with Steven Booth, chief security officer of FireEye, and other IT experts at the CDW Protect Summit to learn more about how they account for and acknowledge the human element that comes with successfully implementing organizational cybersecurity.
Participants
- Steven Booth, Chief Security Officer, FireEye
- Trevor Davidson, Systems Engineer, The Museum of Flight
- Anthony Frazier, Director of Information Services, Georgia United Credit Union
Video Highlights
- Some of the vulnerabilities that get exposed in an organization are due to human error, such as hardware or software misconfiguration. IT leaders must plan for this inevitability.
- Educating users about the value of cybersecurity and communicating that value in a way that is empathetic and connects across workers of all generations is a challenging balancing act for IT.
- Phishing and ransomware, which rely on social engineering tactics, remain some of the most common and effective breach methods and rely largely on manipulating human behavior.
