With more and more data breaches happening to companies each year, many organizations are surprised to find out their weaknesses came from the inside. Your employees are hard workers with more than enough experience to get the job done. So where’s the problem? Here are nine reasons your employees are potentially your biggest security threat.
- The use of private devices.
These days, it’s almost impossible to keep employees from using their personal devices. Everyone stays connected, whether through a wearable or smartphone. But these devices can be a serious security risk when connected to your network, and it’s up to you to set standards on how employees should use their tech.
- Mobile working environments.
Offices are no longer stationary. Employees are working in office, out of office, at home, at the coffee shop down the street—the point is, you never know what network your staff is working off of and how secure it is to send your organization’s information.
- Free reign to surf the web.
Many companies allow employees to surf the web due to research needed for the job. Unfortunately, this means more opportunities to come across malicious websites—which is why antivirus software should be a strong part of your security platform.
- Third-party file sharing.
With so many third-party file sharing options out there—like Dropbox and other cloud-based sharing—it’s just another way for your employees to send important company information in ways that may not live up to your security measures.
- Emails sent incorrectly.
You always have to factor in human error. And with employees, sending an important email to an incorrect address could be a serious security fail. A similar threat is the possibility of your staff opening emails from unknown contacts.
- Removable storage.
You can’t control what kind of hardware your employees plug into their devices. Flash drives could be malicious, causing automatic downloads that you don’t even know about.
- Upgrades aren’t prioritized.
With busy projects and full to-do lists, it’s easy to ignore upgrade prompts. But the truth is, software updates are crucial in keeping your devices secure.
- Lack of security training.
While many companies don’t make it a priority, it’s important to have a security educational system in place, keeping your staff informed and empowered.
- No security policies.
With all of these potential security issues, a company-wide security policy should be in place to keep your staff on the same page and aware of the consequences if they don’t follow it.
Internal threats are often overlooked, but should not be ignored. Don’t let internal threats tear down your business! If you need assistance building up your defenses, then give us a call today. Our security experts are here to help!
