Secure Our World

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an international initiative highlighting actions everyone can take to stay safe online. The theme for Cybersecurity Awareness Month October 2024 is “Secure Our World.” Launched in 2023, Secure Our World empowers everyone to understand the simple ways to protect yourself, your family, and your business from online threats. We are increasingly connected through digital tools and more of our sensitive information is online. Each of us has a part to play in keeping ourselves and others safe. It is easy to do and takes less time than you think.  

InfraNet is proud to be a Champion and support this online safety and education initiative this October. While we recognize this is cyber awareness month, we are excited to share resources, actionable tips, insights, and some fun activities you can use every day to help you do your part to Secure our World!  

Over 90% of data breaches result from human error. Adopting a cybersecurity culture can significantly cut down on security breaches by emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity.  

What is a Cyber Culture?

Cyber culture is defined as the attitudes, knowledge, assumptions, norms, and values that determine how people are expected to think about and approach security in an organization. It is shaped by the goals, structure, policies, processes, and leadership of the organization.  

 Building a Cyber Security Awareness Culture is like childproofing your home. To protect your children, you may have installed fire and carbon dioxide sensors, gates on your stairs, and power outlet covers. You may have chosen to add more safeguards like baby monitors, camera systems, automatic door locks, alarm systems, and more. The hope is that you will never need any of these protections, and those who live in your house will quickly learn not to stick their finger in a power outlet and to lock the door.  

Implementing layered protection for information technology is the same concept. Technology professionals add many layers of protection to keep your data, reputation, and financials safe. However, just putting these safeguards in place is not good enough. A robust culture of cybersecurity needs to be ingrained in the organization. One is where your team knows what is expected of them, understands the impact of their actions, becomes more vigilant about potential threats, and adopts best practices to protect themselves and the organization.  

In the event of a cybersecurity incident (because we are all human and make mistakes), an effective cybersecurity culture can improve the organization’s ability to respond quickly and effectively.

Benefits of Having a Robust Cybersecurity Culture

Leaders who understand the benefits of an effective cybersecurity culture know it is crucial for building a strong defense against cyber threats. They understand that their employees are their strongest assets but also are their weakest link and biggest target for hackers. They recognize that a security culture is about their employees and not just about the technology. A robust cybersecurity culture has many benefits, including: 

Heightened Threat Awareness Among Employees
Employees are more likely to identify potential security risks.

Regulatory Compliance
A security-focused culture can help organizations meet industry regulations and standards.

Reduced Human Error
Employees are less likely to accidentally compromise sensitive information or fall victim to social engineering attacks. 

Competitive Advantage
A commitment to cybersecurity can help build trust with clients and partners. Customers are more likely to trust a business that can demonstrate its commitment to protecting customer data. Thereby strengthening trust, loyalty, and reputation.

Better Incident Response
Employees are better prepared to respond to security incidents quickly and appropriately.

Minimizes Damage
A quick and effective response to security incidents can help minimize damage, improve recovery time, and restore business operations.

8 Signs To Know You Have a Robust Cybersecurity Culture and Mindset

ONE

Senior Leadership Makes Cybersecurity Culture a Top Priority: The leaders in your organization lead by example. They show their commitment by actively adhering to cybersecurity values and standards. By doing so, they send a powerful message to the organization about how important cybersecurity is.

Example

At a large bank, the CEO kicks off every all-staff meeting with a cybersecurity story, whether recounting a personal experience or discussing relevant, newsworthy incidents.

TWO

Leaders Foster Open Communication: Employees communicate about issues without fear of repercussions. Your employees identify problems and suggest improvements. They report suspicious emails and check the authenticity of work-related communications

Example

An organization recently experienced a business email compromise (BEC). Because the organization has a culture that promotes open communication and encourages reporting of suspicious activities, employees promptly reported suspicious emails coming from their CEO. Because they regularly participate in security training, they knew that their CEO would not send that email. Their quick action allowed the incident response team to initiate containment measures and minimize the impact before it escalated into a full-blown crisis.  

THREE

Security Policies and Procedures are Implemented: The organization has comprehensive security policies and procedures in place, and they are regularly updated. These standards are well communicated and understood by your staff.

Example

One company brought together employees from various departments and ranks to create and implement security policies. By inviting employees to participate in policy development, they experienced a far greater adoption throughout the organization.  

FOUR

Education and Training is Ongoing: Your organization has clearly defined training objectives. Employees at all levels participate in continuous educational initiatives, from e-learning to in-person training sessions to regular simulations as part of a holistic approach to cybersecurity education according to their roles and threat exposure. Your training is engaging, fun, and not based on fear.

Example

One marketing firm recognizes the importance of offering many training options because not everyone engages and learns in the same way. Newsletters, tips, videos, hands-on simulations, games, case studies, and discussion forums are just a few methods they use. 

FIVE

Technology is Used to Improve Security: Your security structure is multi-layered, including fundamental security principles such as strong password policies, multi-factor authentication, workstation and server patching, access restrictions, and download limitations.

Example

A recent audit at a non-profit showed that over 20 percent of the staff used the most hacked passwords to protect their email. The organization held a change your password day where everyone updated their passwords to be complex with at least 12 characters, including letters (upper and lower case), numbers, and special characters.  

SIX

Responsibility and Accountability are Encouraged and Rewarded: Your organization has made cybersecurity part of everyone’s job description where cyber expectations are clearly defined. With a formal evaluation of cybersecurity behaviors, employees know what is expected of them.

Example

At a professional services company, if an employee fails a phishing exercise too often, it is reflected in their performance review. Corrective actions range from refresher training to meeting with a supervisor, to a discussion with HR, to loss of internet privileges, to termination.  

SEVEN

You are Proactive and Assess the Risk: You conduct regular risk assessments and security audits to help identify weak points in the system and take corrective actions before they are exploited by attackers. This proactive approach to risk management minimizes the likelihood of breaches and helps organizations stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.

Example

One organization conducts regular vulnerability audits to understand its security weaknesses. This allows the company to find and fix potential issues before hackers can exploit them.

EIGHT

Celebrate Successes: Leaders recognize and celebrate employee security achievements. They publicly acknowledge employee contributions to keep motivation high, such as someone reporting a suspicious email, a team using strong, complex passwords, or achieving a low click-through rate on a phishing exercise.

Example

One company has an all-staff meeting quarterly where they review their goals and recognize their achievements. The goals include security performance and metrics. Employees are recognized for their accomplishments and given bonuses.  

NINE

Leaders understand that prioritizing an effective cybersecurity culture is no longer an option but a necessity for their organization’s long-term success. They recognize that having the right technology in place is important but more important is fostering an organizational culture that values and practices cybersecurity daily.

Let’s Play a Game

Can you find all the words in our Cyber Culture Word Search?

Click here to download this as a PDF you can use with your team!

Check in next week for Week 2 of Cyber Month: Identity Security!