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How to Measure Human Risk: Understanding Social Engineering and Security Awareness Training

April 27, 2023

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Here are 6 bullet points summarizing the post:

  • Social engineering attacks rely on human error to succeed, making it important for organizations to measure human risk and improve employees' security awareness.
  • Social engineering involves psychological manipulation to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security.
  • Simulated phishing attacks can be used to measure human risk related to social engineering by tracking the success rate of these attacks and identifying which employees may need further security awareness training.
  • Security awareness training is essential for educating employees on how to identify and respond to security threats, such as phishing emails or suspicious phone calls.
  • Pre- and post-training assessments can be conducted to measure the effectiveness of security awareness training, including quizzes or simulations that test employees' ability to identify phishing emails or other security threats.
  • By improving employees' security awareness, organizations can reduce the risk of successful social engineering attacks and better protect themselves from cyber threats.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, companies need to recognize that their employees can be a weak link in their security program. Social engineering attacks, like phishing emails and phone scams, often rely on human error to succeed. Therefore, it's crucial for organizations to measure human risk and take steps to improve their employees' security awareness.

Understanding Social Engineering

Social engineering is the use of psychological manipulation to trick individuals into divulging sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security. Phishing is one of the most common forms of social engineering, in which attackers send emails that appear to be from a trusted source, such as a bank or an employer, to lure unsuspecting victims into clicking on a malicious link or downloading a harmful attachment.

To measure human risk related to social engineering, organizations can conduct simulated phishing attacks. This involves sending fake phishing emails to employees to see how many fall for the scam. By tracking the success rate of these attacks, organizations can identify which employees may need further security awareness training.

Security Awareness Training

Security awareness training is an essential component of any organization's cybersecurity strategy. It involves educating employees on how to identify and respond to security threats, such as phishing emails or suspicious phone calls. By improving employees' security awareness, organizations can reduce the risk of successful social engineering attacks.

To measure the effectiveness of security awareness training, organizations can conduct pre- and post-training assessments. These assessments can include quizzes or simulations that test employees' ability to identify phishing emails or other security threats. By comparing the results of these assessments, organizations can determine whether their security awareness training has been effective.

Conclusion

Measuring human risk is an important part of any organization's cybersecurity strategy. By understanding the threat of social engineering and implementing effective security awareness training, organizations can reduce the risk of successful attacks. Conducting simulated phishing attacks and pre-and post-training assessments are two ways to measure human risk and improve employees' security awareness. With these measures in place, organizations can better protect themselves from cyber threats.

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