Digital transformation has brought immense and innumerable opportunities for businesses. From the automation of manual, laborious and time-consuming tasks to easier real-time collaboration, digitizing processes is an item high on many HR leaders’ and directors’ lists going into 2024.
However, to borrow from the old adage, there is no reward without a level of risk. As technology evolves and teams become more digitally intertwined, new cyber risks surface and evolve, serving to compromise businesses and their data.
As companies navigate new digital terrain, they must also adapt their cyber security strategies and address any persistent skills or knowledge gaps. Failing to do so means businesses risk opening themselves to a whole host of potentially damaging, both financial and reputational, attacks that could compromise business data and erode customer or stakeholder trust.Â
Threat actors are constantly finding innovative ways to exploit vulnerabilities in systems and gain access to sensitive data to exploit. Invariably, the first line of defense is an organization’s people who are, ironically, the most commonly exploited security vulnerability worldwide, according to recent Statista figures.Â
As technology integrates deeper into business operations and collaboration, the potential attack surface and risk exposure widens. As organizations scale and expand operations, their infrastructure also grows, which is why many established firms turn to specialist solutions like red team assessments and penetration testing, from third-party vendors, to gain a complete picture of their risk profile and response capabilities.
Why Cyber Security is an HR Concern
Cyber security, contrary to popular opinion, is no longer a concern purely reserved for IT teams and data analysts. Cyber security affects everybody within a company’s supply chain, from directors and executives to intermediaries and end users.
As the HR function itself has evolved, practitioners in this space are often tasked with driving knowledge and putting people first, and it’s no different when it comes to cyber security.
HR leaders and, by extension, their teams of professionals, executives, and management, play a pivotal role in managing cyber risk through a culture of alignment and awareness. Organizational resilience is strengthened by both technical upskilling and broader cyber knowledge, the latter of which is significantly more impactful.Â
HR can be that effective driver of improved awareness and cross-departmental knowledge of both the risk factors and prevention steps needed to keep organizations inherently more secure. HR often bridges many areas of a company together, from leadership to frontline workers, all of whom have a vital responsibility to uphold data integrity and maintain sufficient levels of cyber readiness.Â
Nonetheless, gaps are bound to remain in any organization, so it’s up to HR leaders to spearhead any policy and procedure changes to ensure all of them are addressed proactively and well before any threat is detected. HR can be instrumental in improving cyber readiness from the top down, and the guidance below will give leaders food for thought when initiating necessary change in their organizations, with invaluable leadership support.
The High Costs of Compromise
Cyber attacks vary in complexity and severity. A data breach can be a minor inconvenience for one organization, while for others it can completely derail operations and result in hefty regulatory fines, for failing to safeguard data. These fines can be particularly severe for companies in highly regulated industries like finance and healthcare, where data integrity is paramount.
If a business suffers a cyber attack, however, some common consequences include (but are not limited to):
- Financial losses from stolen funds, ransom payments, or fines
- Loss of customer trust and knock-on reductions in sales
- Interruption of service and production after infrastructure is compromised
- Legal liabilities if policies and compliance regulations are not followed
A common element throughout the most pervasive types of breaches, whether a brute force attack or phishing attempt, is the human element. A 2022 Stanford University report found that 88% of breaches involved some form of human error, whether an intentional insider threat or mistakenly clicking a malicious link in a spam email that resulted in a malware download.
Overlooking the human risk factor in cyber strategies leaves massive gaps in defenses. The lack of awareness, proper tools, and policies for the workforce to uphold security practices means that cyber attacks can continue to permeate with ease.
HR’s Integral Role in Cyber Risk Management
While IT teams and security analysts are tasked with executing frontline threat containment and response tasks, HR leaders can rest assured that any technical tasks will fall out of their jurisdiction. However, they are tasked with driving director-level change that IT teams can follow with confidence, which will aid their threat response strategies.
HR leaders must foster an organizational culture that complements frontline security defenses by addressing risks. These risks must be communicated transparently with all departments who are susceptible to cybercrime, including financial departments, customer service, sales, marketing, and every department in between.
Some of the key ways HR should drive organization-wide cyber awareness and resilience include:
Establishing Secure Policies and Guidelines
- Updating codes of conduct, acceptable use policies, and security guidelines to set clear expectations for employee behavior and consequences for violations.
- Outlining protocols for safe device usage, multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods, proper handling of company data, reporting incidents, and escalating anomalies and concerns.
- Identifying and communicating relevant data privacy legislation and regulations to maintain compliance at a legal and industry level.
Building Comprehensive Cybersecurity Training
- Making basic cyber security training mandatory for all personnel upon onboarding, to establish a universal security baseline.
- Enforcing regular refresher sessions to accommodate evolving new threats and risk factors like social engineering tactics.
- Segmenting programs by role and risk level to tailor subject matter appropriately.
- Utilizing engaging methods like interactive video content and incentives to motivate learning and retention.
Promoting a Culture of Shared Responsibility
- Communicating that cyber security is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of an IT team.
- Encouraging vigilance in spotting potential threats or suspicious behavior and speaking up without any risk of reprimand or rebuttal.
- Framing security best practices as supporting overall business success and resilience, not just rules to follow.
- Empowering individuals to suggest ideas and improvements which can aid the organization.
Implementing Incident Reporting Systems
- Creating streamlined workflows for personnel to swiftly report cyber incidents or policy violations.
- If necessary, ensuring processes are anonymized to promote transparency and remove unconscious biases.
- Following up on each report to understand weaknesses exploited and update defenses accordingly.
As HR is invariably positioned across all areas of a business, whatever its size, scale, or industry, leaders can cultivate a cyber-aware culture founded on security best practices and ongoing vigilance. Reducing vulnerabilities and strengthening baseline defenses boils down to empowering the weakest links and building on those practices continually as the threat landscape evolves.
Guest writer.