Human factor in data security: Busy Boris

A mishap is just around the corner – we all make mistakes. One might be a little more sensitive to this than the other. Mistakes make us human and these do not always have a detrimental impact. That is, until it concerns data security, because then, it becomes an entirely different ball game.

In this “Meet the team”-series, you will meet the employees whom are at a higher risk of making a human error and in turn pose a threat to your data security. Last week you met Tired Thomas: the employee who regularly lacks sleep and therefore is more likely to make a mistake.

Today we have Busy Boris. His motto? “Better to be busy than bored”. This does not always work out well and you will read about this in today’s blog.

Learn more:

• Human factor in data security: Tired Thomas
• Human factor in data security: Stressed Sandra

Working overtime is the rule rather than the exception and that is shown by the timestamps of when emails are being sent. As a result, sending an email out late at night has become common practice. Or even early in the morning, before the actual working day has started. But that is not to say that Boris always does this from home. No, when possible, emails are sometimes sent from the train or the customer’s office. In those cases, he simply makes use of a guest network: even though he knows this way of working is far from safe, he still does so in his haste. “Just to quickly send an email”, he thinks.

That is a pitfall and makes Boris susceptible to making mistakes.

The danger of being too busy

Always being busy can affect properly taking care of daily tasks, because:

• Boris always runs from pillar to post, causing him to lose his overview;
• Small changes in his daily pattern can overthrow his schedule;
• Due to time pressure, working safe and securely is sometimes an issue. If a simple email needs to be sent, then the guest network will suffice too. Right?
  
  
  

• He continues to work on unsafe public networks, which can result in sensitive data being intercepted;  
• He sends the wrong files to the wrong person in his haste or
• He sends emails without the right encryption. Think about sensitive client records without two-factor authentication.

How can we help Boris?

Being busy without making mistakes can be a challenge. And that certainly applies to Boris, whom is especially sensitive to this. So how can we help Boris then?

To focus on, for example, forcing the highest degree of security, when it comes to sharing sensitive records, a check on attachments and recipients, and awareness training so that Boris is less likely to use unsafe networks.

Another individual who could use some help is his colleague Stressed Sandra. Busy at home and she often brings this to work. What the dangers of this are, you will read next week in the new “meet the team” series.