It’s not just you, it’s all of us.

Last week, we primed you with a brief synopsis of the history of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and also shared a few tips on Twitter, @thirdoctet.  This week, our aim is to illustrate that the most dangerous threat to your organization, when not properly accounted for, is regular, everyday human error.  Don’t believe us? Think of these all-too-common scenarios.

• Suppose one of your employees is involved in a data breach and happens to use the same password across all their accounts. In that case, that could give cybercriminals access to your whole network of data, including employee T4’s and customer billing information.  Password reuse is quite common.
• If just one person isn’t paying enough attention to their email and falls for a phishing scam, it could expose your company to a data breach or ransomware attack. Something like that could shut down your company for days or even weeks. Think about how much that could cost you in revenue and reputation.
• A less than thought-out photo posted to social media with PII (Personal Identifiable Information) or PHI (Personal Health Information) visible in the frame could lead to a data breach or a compliance violation. You don’t want a poorly timed selfie to be the reason you have to deal with an onslaught of lawsuits.  PHI and phish.
• Something as simple as a lost personal phone could be fatal if employees used their phone for work. A hacker could use that hardware to break into your integral systems that hold employee and customer data. Sadly, we don’t even need to lose our phone to be breached.

All these missteps are unintentional, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t plan for them. Make sure that you’re giving your staff proper cybersecurity training and making your digital policies well-known. Be an active participant in making sure no one falls for scams.

Luckily for you, this Cyber Security Awareness Month, we’ve got you covered.  If you’ve not been following along, head over to Twitter to catch the recap of our first eight security tips and keep up for the rest of October.  Be sure to head back here next Friday for the seven “ghosts” you need to watch out for.