Veeam: In 2023, employees will have greater responsibility for cybersecurity.
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In recent years there has been greater attention to everything related to cybersecurity. Today, even ordinary people have developed the awareness of having to defend themselves against cyber attacks. For organizations, This is a unique opportunity to empower your employees for cybersecurity. Provided they have the right tools and training.
From the smart thermostat to the coffee machine that transmits data, our private lives are increasingly influenced by connected devices. For every feature that makes our lives easier, we also need to realize that cybercriminals can use the technology to their advantage. Only rarely are these devices built with safety in mind. Hybrid work also causes the story of cybersecurity to move more and more outside the corporate walls. Fortunately, most users realize that they are an important link in the security chain and are willing to assume their responsibilities.
Employees and cybersecurity: security in different jobs
Edwin Weijdema, Global Technologist at Veeam, shares his thoughts on the increased responsibilities that will fall on employees in the cybersecurity field. The accrued awareness of information security obviously presents opportunities for organizations. After all, investing in technology isn’t enough if you don’t involve your company’s people as well. Risks can never be completely excluded, which is why it is important for employees to know how to react in the event of an accident. Because the fact that one day things will go wrong is now a certainty. Hackers move from one company to another so the chances of a company being attacked are very high.
This awareness has now seeped into the boardroom as well, resulting in more attention and budget being devoted to security. Instead of placing all the pressure on the shoulders of the CISO, this person is allowed to sit more often at the boardroom table and is given a larger role to integrate security into all levels of the organization. In the short term, we can even expect safety to become a fixed part of every job. It will almost literally stipulate that people must have some level of computer awareness and that they are responsible for keeping it up to date. Of course, this is only possible if the employer provides the tools to do so.
awareness and training
How exactly do you deal with this problem? There will have to be some sort of trade-off: companies will have to invest more in tools and training, so that people can take a more active role. This approach has two levels. First, awareness needs to be created, because there are still employees who don’t know exactly what the risks are. For this purpose, one could, for example, hire a hacker to show how much damage a small mistake can do in a few minutes and how a quick response from the user can avoid much of this damage.
In many organizations, outreach training stops there, but you need to follow it up with tutorials. After all, we organize fire drills every year to make sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency. So why shouldn’t we do something similar for cybersecurity? Security is a topic that requires constant attention. You could also create a team of champions, a group of employees who, thanks to extra training, are better prepared in safety matters and can coach their colleagues in the workshop.
People are the key
Those who do it right will soon find that most employees are more open to this type of training than ever. Ultimately, the knowledge and skills will not only be useful in the office, but also in the private sphere to know how to deal with cyber threats. No one wants tomorrow that a hacker starts playing with their smart thermostat, or that an insecure device causes their bank account to be looted. Also, a well-educated person will extend this line to their children’s education. Eventually, they too will be playing with a smartphone at a young age, and we can raise a more cyber-aware generation.
According to Edwin Weijdema, Global Technologist of veeam, the most important trend for cybersecurity in 2023 therefore has nothing to do with new technologies. Instead, it’s a message we’ve been preaching for over a decade: humans are the key to the solution. The biggest difference from some time ago is that now people are curious and want to know what they can do to play their part. This is an opportunity that companies cannot pass up.
