Are companies paying enough attention to cybersecurity culture among employees? 

First line of defense: Employees 
 

It is imperative that companies focus on building and sustaining a culture of cybersecurity and cultivate it in the workplace for effective cyber risk management. This would entail moving beyond the typical strategy used in which most businesses simply allocate a certain portion of their IT budgets or revenue to security without considering their actual needs. The approach must include helping employees realize that the risk is real and that their actions can have an impact on increasing or reducing that risk. Companies’ cybersecurity blanket must also include third-parties and others on their IT architecture.
 

Effective cybersecurity necessitates a persistent effort that covers employee behavior, third-party risks, and numerous other potential vulnerabilities in addition to application security, penetration testing, and incident management.
 

Enterprises spend millions of dollars on hardware and software but may neglect the simple act of properly training their employees on security practices. Teaching employees to recognize threats, curb poor cyber behavior, and follow basic security habits can provide the best return on investment. However, the benefits can be difficult to measure and therefore justify the expense. Trying to quantify the return on investment in employee training and building a culture of security can be difficult to sell to upper management. In many cases, management may not believe that just training their employees can reduce their exposure to cyber losses.
 

An example of cyber-attack using the employee route is phishing emails. In fact, 90% of data breaches start with a phishing email, according to a threat trend report by an IT major. Yet most employees believe they would know how to recognize a phishing email and would not act to the request in the email. However, at least one person clicked on a phishing link in around 86% organizations, finds the threat trends report mentioned earlier. With nine out of 10 ransomware infections coming from some form of phishing event, investing in employee training about phishing emails and other methods can reduce risk significantly.
 

We need to understand that in any system, humans are the strongest asset but can also be the weakest link. Security culture is primarily for the humans, not for the computers. Hence, it is important to instil the concept that security belongs to everyone by creating programs that cater to region, department, and role so that people understand that security is part of the organization’s culture. 

Steps to building a cyber security culture
 

Core to creating an effective cyber security culture is recognizing that people too make an organization secure, not just technology. If people are the weakest link then they are also the best response to cyber-attacks in cyber security chains. Therefore, it’s critical to foster an environment where employees have the knowledge and the instinct to be the first in the line of defense. 
 

Although the introduction of certifications like ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials has encouraged policies, standards, and processes to improve cyber resilience, these measures are only present at a framework level. Hence, companies must ensure that the criticality of the framework trickles down to the people.
 

Corporations should nurture a cyber security environment in multiple ways, starting with cyber-savvy boards. It's critical to make sure that cyber risk gets the attention it needs, especially given the rise in public security breaches, employee amoonlighting, data theft, and the frequency of economic interruptions brought on by cyberattacks. Boards of directors and leaders should be a part of the special committees that examine cybersecurity issues in a private setting.
 

According to a survey of senior management conducted, 64% workers are now working from home. To effectively reduce threats from a security standpoint, companies need a complete overhaul of not only policies and technologies but a large investment and effort on the people. To assure security in the new hybrid workplace culture, businesses are expected to invest in training their staff about cyber security, enhance their awareness, and make them understand their roles and responsibilities. 
 

Companies need to design and execute a culture change strategy to make employees and other parties realize that every action matters in cyber security. Cyber culture is a concept that goes beyond routine phishing simulations and annual training sessions.