Why a No-Blame Approach to Cybersecurity is Effective Against Social Engineering Attacks

Imagine discovering that your multibillion-dollar company, with tens of thousands of employees, has come to a standstill — all because one person placed too much trust in the wrong hands.

It’s not as farfetched as you may believe. Carefully crafted social engineering schemes enable attackers to impersonate anyone, steal credentials, and infiltrate your systems, leading to what IBM has determined is, on average, a nearly $5 million fallout.

Incidents like these are frightening reminders that your greatest vulnerability might not be in your systems, but in your staff. Anyone can make a mistake. What you must remember as you pick up the pieces following a breach is that no victim should ever feel disgraced or humiliated. Social engineering schemes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and everyone is a target.

While October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, cybersecurity is a 24/7, year-round responsibility. It’s often said that the question isn’t if you’ll face a cyberattack, but when. You can significantly reduce your risk and build resilience against future threats by humanizing your company’s response and fostering a culture of security awareness.

The power of being vigilant

The best way to stop scammers — no matter how they approach you or your employees — is to immediately verify any suspicious requests.

Scam messages may not show the telltale signs of being fraudulent, like being sent at odd hours or poor spelling or formatting, so you must remain skeptical. If you get a message from an acquaintance but suspect it may be a scam, reach out through another avenue to confirm. Business moves fast, but so do attackers. The extra seconds it takes to authenticate a request is time well spent compared to the damage carelessness can cause.

One pervasive challenge in cybersecurity is that people naturally want to trust one another. It can feel awkward to express skepticism, especially when a scammer poses as someone in leadership, so you should encourage your employees to be politely paranoid and express sincerity when raising concerns. These “policy firewalls” — strict verification processes that persuade your team to scrutinize unusual requests without fear — can help remove embarrassment from the equation. Although it may feel uncomfortable to question someone’s integrity, everyone can at least find reassurance in following established security protocols.

Normalizing these processes throughout the organization creates a security-conscious culture where verification is expected and not taken personally. This approach, combined with ongoing education and awareness training, will greatly decrease the risk that someone at your company will fall for a social engineering attack.

A supportive environment is a safe environment

Many people often say that humans are the weakest link in cybersecurity, but that outdated perspective unfairly shifts blame onto the victims. Instead, if your employees are adequately educated and supported, they can be your first line of defense when incidents occur.

The speed and nature of your response can significantly impact how effectively you mitigate the damage after a breach. So, foster an environment where your employees feel safe and empowered to report potential security issues immediately.

If you haven’t yet built that “policy firewall,” start by implementing a simple, step-by-step guide that everyone at the company can easily follow when they suspect your network has been breached. Then, it’s on you to ensure your cybersecurity team — and the rest of the organization — responds to that report without blame or punishment.

Punitive measures, like probation, suspensions, and even firings, can have a chilling effect on incident reporting. They can also increase your overall vulnerability if team members hide future attacks and they go unreported. By encouraging open communication and creating a safe space for admitting mistakes, you may be able to stay one step ahead of bad actors.

Each incident, when handled correctly, becomes a valuable learning experience that will strengthen your company against future threats.

Opportunities arise for reassessment

The proper response to a security breach is more than supporting your employees. You must use the occasion to reexamine your entire approach to cybersecurity.

Continuous education and training must be part of your comprehensive defense strategy. People who understand the risks and how to respond to them can prevent many incidents before they escalate. So, too, is keeping them safe before they’re ever put in a compromising position.

At Syniverse, we’re constantly innovating to develop solutions that protect people from social engineering campaigns. Our breakthrough anti-spam engine, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) processes, scans roughly 1 billion messages a day given the time of year to intercept and block anything that appears harmful or fraudulent.

Likewise, Messaging Trust and Evolved Mobility for Messaging are just two solutions that ensure any messages sent by enterprises to their customers only travel through the most secure channels. And, our Mobile Identity and Authentication services can stop fraud before it starts.

We’re focused on helping companies stay ahead of scammers and employees remain safe — and free from shame if they become the victims of an attack. Reach out today to discover how we can help protect your network and people from emerging cyber threats.