As we continue to explore the theme of Human-Centric Cybersecurity Awareness Training during Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024, it’s essential to dive deeper into the human risk factor—an often overlooked yet critical aspect of organizational security.
Why the Human Risk Factor is Vital
Despite technological advancements, people remain at the heart of cybersecurity challenges. As Professor Philip Morgan, Director of the Human Factors Excellence Research Group at Cardiff University, aptly puts it:
“Too many organizations still either ignore the ‘human risk factor’ in their organizational resilience or apply outdated or compliance-driven ‘tick-the-box’ approaches to training their employees about cyber security.”
This outdated mindset fails to recognize that human error accounts for a large percentage of cybersecurity breaches. The traditional “tick-the-box” compliance-driven methods no longer suffice in today’s complex digital environment. Instead, organizations need to adopt a human-centric approach that emphasizes behaviour change, continuous learning, and proactive engagement with security practices.
How OutThink’s Platform Addresses Human Risk
OutThink’s Cybersecurity Human Risk Management platform is specifically designed to tackle the human risk factor head-on by offering organizations the tools to understand, manage, and reduce human risk in real-time:
- Behavioural Risk Scoring: OutThink’s platform continuously tracks and assesses employee behaviours to identify potential vulnerabilities. This data-driven approach ensures that organizations focus their training and resources on areas with the highest risk, making security interventions more effective.
- Role-Specific Learning: OutThink tailors its training to the specific behaviours and risks associated with each employee’s role, offering customized learning paths that resonate more deeply than generic training programs. This approach leads to greater retention and proactive security practices.
- Continuous Engagement: Security isn’t a one-time event. OutThink provides continuous learning opportunities, helping employees stay informed about emerging threats and reinforcing positive security behaviours over time.
Moving Beyond Compliance-Driven Approaches
OutThink‘s platform is designed to replace outdated compliance-driven approaches with an emphasis on behavioural insights and human risk analytics. This empowers organizations to build a proactive culture of security awarenesswhere employees become active defenders of sensitive information, rather than being viewed as the weakest link.
Empowering Employees to Reduce Risk
By creating an environment where people are actively involved in security processes, OutThink’s platform fosters a security-first mindset that empowers employees to make better decisions, recognize potential threats, and report suspicious activities. This leads to a stronger organizational defense against cyber threats.
Discover more about OutThink’s Cybersecurity Human Risk Management platform here and see how it can help your organization address the human risk factor and build resilience through continuous employee engagement.
