Human Firewall

Let’s face it, humans are the single greatest vulnerability when it comes to cybersecurity. We are the users, the creators, the criminals, and the innovators but every vulnerability of our network is based around a human action. Humans click the keys to make the hardware, software, and apps do what we need to in order to make them work for us and our organization. While we automate certain aspects of our digital environment with the advances in AI and machine learning a human is still responsible for building the software, configuring the environment, and taking care of the alerts when an incident arises. However, there is still hope because humans can also be the single greatest strength when it comes to cybersecurity. So how do we go from the greatest vulnerability to being the ultimate defense? We create a human firewall.  

A human firewall is an idea that humans (device/end users) back up the automated security programs by way of continual education, monitoring, and talking about cybersecurity. Each of us are required to see sensitive data and having untrained, uneducated, and unaware users should clearly show the importance for cybertraining, cybereducation, and cyberawareness. Many organizations have security policies and procedures in place, some even have executives leading security departments, specific to cybersecurity however, cybersecurity is not “just” an IT problem – it’s an organizational problem. “One that needs to start from the top down and touch every level and every employee on the way down.”¹ – Rob May, Chairman IoD Surrey. 

We are progressing and innovating at an exponential pace which is amazing in its own regard. Yet, we have seen what happens by innovating and forgetting security. There is no shortage of literature preaching the importance of password management and hygiene. But still, in the second quarter of 2020 alone, 350 million passwords along with emails or usernames have been compromised.² With every innovation, there is a massive new opportunity to exploit a vulnerability. And if one thing reigns true in cybersecurity, it is that if there is a vulnerability, then it will eventually be exploited.  

If your organization has sensitive information that is stored in a database, then cybersecurity should be a serious topic in your next board meeting, if it isn’t already. Cybersecurity doesn’t have to be convoluted or overwhelming. At Steel Patriot Partners, we have gone to great lengths to ensure the best user experience, excellent customer service, and to portray our immense passion for helping organizations and companies see the reality of their security transformation. We understand the void in staffing availability and the risk you transfer when contemplating outsourcing. But something has to be done. Your experience and security are our top priorities for that reason – we understand. Cybersecurity isn’t a one size fits all solution and focusing on provide tailored solutions to fortify your human firewalls, but we also supplement that with organization wide training and education aspects to help make your organization’s human firewall more robust.  

If any of the topics covered in this post caught your attention, or you would simply like to inquire how you can start a cybersecurity conversation, simply give us a follow on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), send us an email, give us a call at 703-297-4405 or contact us directly! Regardless of the method you choose, we look forward to hearing from you and – as always, we appreciate your time for reading our content! Stay blessed and stay secure!