What does it mean to be security aware?

In previous blog posts, we’ve talked a lot about how important it is to be aware of how secure your firewall really is. But you may be wondering one thing: what does it even mean to be “security aware?”

Introduction

As much as we hate to admit it, we don’t know everything. Such is the curse of man: we aren’t born with all of the answers, so we have to live and experience to find them.

The evolution of technology is so fast that it can be pretty difficult to keep up with the good stuff – much less the bad stuff that could hurt you.

But just because the computer landscape is ever-changing, it’s important to step it up in order to keep your company’s information safe.

Being security aware means that we, both as individuals and a community, have to keep in mind that the Internet is not just a window to information but a potentially dangerous thing.

Ways to get started

A lot of being aware comes from being prepared, says Richard Fitzgerald on LinkedIn.

• Regularly update your applications and operating system.
• Have a good firewall.
• Invest in a computer antivirus program, one that protects against malware and ransomware.
• Educate the staff to know what a risky email looks like. A lot of security disasters start with a seemingly innocuous email that actually contains vicious malware.

The human element

While it’s great to have top-notch software to do the heavy lifting, it’s essential to remember one thing: humans have a far greater and more unpredictable capacity for error than a computer system does.

As Robert Siciliano writes in Entrepreneur, “the reality is that no matter how secure the nonhuman end of things is, the mere existence of people using a system will always mean the potential for data breaches.”

Security awareness always starts with the individual. We are just as at risk as a Fortune 500 company, because at the end of the day it’s often human fallacy that lets attackers in.

Sources

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/everyone-telling-you-cyber-security-aware-what-does-mean-fitzgerald

Entrepreneur: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245596

Image courtesy of SecurityMetrics: http://blog.securitymetrics.com/2014/11/security-awareness-guidance.html