‘Stranger Danger’ From Just One Click

The Growing Importance of Cyber-Smart Employees

For organisations with connected employees, it’s critically important for them to be cyber-smart. Just one click on the wrong attachment can put an entire business in jeopardy from cyber criminals, because we’re living in an increasingly technological and connected world.

We teach our children about ‘stranger danger’ and to look both ways when they cross the road. We don’t always remember that the same principles apply to how people should use technology – and that this holds true whether they’re enjoying personal down-time or are working. Let’s take a look at some of the problems, and possible solutions.

Very often, it all starts with an innocent-looking email.

Don’t Click!

Phishing emails are created to look like they come from a trustworthy sender. Behind the scenes, though, the phishing email links to or contains malicious content.

According to global professional services company Deloitte, over 90 percent of all cyber attacks – including ransomware – begin with a phishing email to an unsuspecting victim. In a ransomware attack, clicking on the phishing email’s attachment means the recipient has unknowingly opened the door to a cyber attacker, allowing them to plant malware within the organisation’s IT systems, effectively shutting them down until a ransom is paid.

Essentially, this means that people can become the weakest link in the security chain – as two important local state-run organisations have found to their cost.

Ransomware Attacks Unleash Havoc  

In July 2021, an unprecedented cyber attack on Transnet caused absolute chaos with internal and external supply chains, affecting the entire country, for over a week. The port of Durban was especially hard hit, causing massive frustration among both importers and exporters. While Transnet remained initially tight-lipped about the cause of the attack, rumours of the dreaded word ‘ransomware’ began to spread. Whether a head (or heads?) eventually rolled is anyone’s guess.

More recently, in June this year, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) was also dealt a sucker-punch from a ransomware attack that disrupted its communication systems, and deleted backups. The attack on the NHLS caused serious delays in lab testing across public health facilities – at a time when potentially deadly M-Pox and Covid cases are starting to rise on the global health horizons.

From just these two examples, we can see how the havoc that can be caused with just one click is real.

Look Both Ways

And so, because employees are in the frontline against the dark arts and persuasive talents of hackers, it’s critical to help them become cyber-smart as another part of your organisation’s overall cyber defences.

Empower your employees by encouraging them to follow these tips:

• Be wary of unexpected emails: If your employees receive emails from an unknown source, or even emails that look like they’re from a trusted colleague but seem in any way strange or unusual, they should not click any links or open any attachments. They should also flag such emails with the corporate IT Security Team.
• Regularly change passwords: Incorporating numbers and special characters can make it more difficult for cybercriminals to crack passwords.
• Be careful about what is shared online: Social media quizzes and posts that ask people to share things like their pet’s name, the street they grew up on or their favourite colour may seem harmless, but can actually be avenues for cybercriminals to find out key password or security question information that could be used to hack into online accounts.
• Take advantage of multi-factor authentication: Login systems that require multiple steps to verify an individual’s identity might seem tedious, but they do significantly improve account security.

Joint Responsibilities

The better informed your workforce is about cyber threats, the more that cybercriminals will be inclined to go elsewhere and search for easier, less educated and more unaware targets.

A cybersmart culture is one where every employee knows that they play an important role in keeping the company’s data secure and safe. Each person takes responsibility for actively monitoring and preventing threats in their day-to-day online activities.

For a relatively small investment in education and training around cybersecurity best practices, the rewards are many – including maintaining a strong brand identity and an excellent business reputation, which, of course, all works to improve the bottom line.