A joint report from cybersecurity firm ESET and business psychology provider the Myers-Briggs Company revealed that human error has led to an increase in the cybersecurity risks and challenges for 80% of businesses during the pandemic. The report “Cyberchology: The Human Element” analyzed the mindsets of 2,000 consumers and over 100 CISOs in the U.K., examining the link between cybersecurity, employee personality, and stress levels while working remotely.
The report stated that employees’ awareness and their personality play a key role in protecting organizations against evolving cyberthreats. Human error was the biggest cybersecurity challenge for most CISOs during the pandemic. Cybercriminal activities surged by 63% since the lockdown was introduced and nearly 47% of people are concerned about their ability to manage stress during the crisis. It was found that 75% of organizations said 50% of their business is being undertaken by employees who are now working remotely in a distributed work environment.
According to the report, stress affects different personality types in different ways, highlighting that each employee has their own specific blind spot towards cybersecurity. As the pandemic has raised stress levels, employees are more likely to panic and click on a malicious link or fail to report a security breach to their IT team, depending on their personality type.
Jake Moore, Cybersecurity Specialist at ESET said, “Remote working has brought greater flexibility to the workforce but has also dramatically altered business processes and systems. The combination of fractured IT systems, a lack of central security, the sudden shift to home working, and a global climate of stress and concern is a perfect breeding ground for a successful cyberattack. The fact that only a quarter of businesses have faith in their own remote working strategy is shocking and shows there is much work to be done to secure working from home.”
John Hackston, Head of the Myers-Briggs Company, said, “Cybersecurity has long been thought of as the responsibility of IT departments alone, but in order to build a holistic cybersecurity strategy that accounts for the human factor, IT and HR departments must work together. Using psychometric testing and self-awareness tools, HR can help to identify the makeup of teams and pinpoint potential vulnerabilities. IT teams can use this insight to create comprehensive security protocols, and a proactive cyber strategy to stay one step ahead of potential threats.”
