Security mitigation often overlooks the top cybersecurity risk: people. Whereas a technical firewall digitally arbitrates network traffic, a human firewall is a layer of protection and a line of defense people constitute to combat an organization's security threats--a human layer of protection.
A human firewall targets the weakest link in the proverbial "security chain." For example, today's phishing threats rely on human interaction, with victims unknowingly clicking on a malicious link or providing information to an attacker. And then there is social engineering. How many employees really know what that is?
To build a strong human firewall, organizations must provide extensive education, simulations, training, and relevance to workers. Security awareness training (SAT) is a service Dunewood provides and one that is gaining momentum this year. Our relevant simulations are rolled out to all workers, from executives and front desk workers to associates in the field.
Even before COVID-19 affected digital reliance, organizations faced challenges safeguarding their assets, employees, customers, and data. However, cybersecurity is a heightened topic these days and human firewalls are ultimately part of a longer-term offense.