Cybersecurity affects every employee – from the executive team to HR, sales, marketing, etc. For this reason, cybersecurity should be everyone’s responsibility. But not all employees understand this. A survey by Citrix found that 40% of employees believe that they bear no responsibility for securing information. Cybersecurity is often thought of as a job for a company’s IT department; it makes sense as they are the tech experts who would most understand how to keep a business secure. But your employees are at risk every time they log onto their computers. Therefore, a company shouldn’t rely solely on one team for security. Everyone must work together to achieve security. Here are three reasons why cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.

Source: Help Net Security

Every Employee Is A Potential Target

Employees engage in activities that put them at risk, whether they realize it or not. Coming across a suspicious link while browsing or receiving a spam email can happen to anyone.  Those who work with confidential information may find themselves more likely to be a target.

The first step of a cyber attack is reconnaissance, where hackers research their targets beforehand. A simple LinkedIn search can show a hacker a wealth of people to target. From there they can find other social media accounts to further get information on how to tailor their attacks. They can target employees through a variety of ways such as phishing, impersonation and other social engineering tactics. Employees need to understand that their actions have an impact on your company’s security. They should be trained regularly on the cyber threat landscape and learn to engage in cyber safe habits.

Technology Isn’t a One Stop Solution

Having next generation security technologies like Firewalls and SIEM systems are key to limiting cyber attacks and protecting your data. But technology can only do the initial blocking of an attack. Whether a person clicks on a malicious link in their email or responds to an email containing CEO fraud is up to them.

There are also some attacks that technology may not be able to prevent, such as vishing. Vishing is a form of phishing where hackers call their targets to extract information instead of emailing them. Thus, your employees must work in conjunction with technology to protect themselves.

Cybersecurity Policies and Procedures Apply to Everyone

Having a strong cybersecurity culture is key to engaging employees with cybersecurity. A solid cybersecurity culture will include procedures and policies that ensure all employees meet the same security standards, such as every employee needing to change their password every 30 days. This will also show employees that they are a vital part in keeping your business safe. Updating your procedures and policies regularly will help reinforce your security mandates with your employees.