Adriana Keesecker<\/p>\n\n\n\n
09\/24\/2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CYSE 200<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As time goes on and technology advances, the human aspect of technology still determines how successful cybersecurity ends up to be. The human factor when it refers to cybersecurity is the role that we play in protecting or even putting organizations information at risks. Though we have certain security measures that protect an organization’s systems, humans still make mistakes and important passwords can be leaked which can result in major loss within a company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Human behavior can contribute to cybersecurity vulnerabilities in many different ways. A vulnerability can result from an human error such as; making a mistake on their computers, feeling more stressed than normal and messing up, and even an employee not being properly trained can cause a mistake and an opening for a hacker to take that risk to their advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the major cybersecurity risks is phishing email attacks. Phishing is when a hacker sends an email or message with a link that has stealing malware to an employee which then can cause the hacker to gain access to their computer and important information. There are a few different ways that they might set up this type of email or message making it seem like it is an urgent matter that they\u2019re being hacked and need to fix it by clicking a link or they will propose to their employer in the email to make an employee trust the email without thinking twice. Phishing is more harmful because it is deceiving an employee by letting them put their guard down and trusting the message that is being sent. Another major cybersecurity risk is insider threat, this is when an employee abuses their internal credentials to access internal information to be leaked into a hacker’s hands. This risk is especially harmful because when an employee is onboarded, they are being trusted to work for a company and have access to all passwords and information that comes with the company. It is hard to find the source when one of them is your own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Organizations can reduce human related cybersecurity risks by proper training and positive organization culture. When proper training is occurring in cybersecurity employees can feel more confident identifying phishing emails and how to create a strong password to better secure important information. I believe a positive organizational culture could deter employees from becoming bored and surfing sites they shouldn’t be and possibly retaliating against their company and becoming an insider threat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Certain social factors can influence cybersecurity behaviors, it can shape how employees evaluate risks and respond to threats. It can affect how an employee might respond to an email or message presuming to be from their employer and attackers can take advantage of this and take over their system. Attackers can also use persuasion principles to lower their guard and also hack their systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In conclusion, the human factor is very important when it comes to cybersecurity. Even though an organization can take all of the precautions to protect their systems it can still be impacted by human decisions. All social and psychological factors go into how a human can make these decisions based on the environment of the organization they work for to how trained they are in cybersecurity. Employees should be aware of phishing emails and creating strong passwords to not become a victim to cyberattacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Work Cited<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kost, Edward. \u201cHuman Factors in Cybersecurity in 2026: UpGuard.\u201d RSS<\/em>, UpGuard, 2 July 2026, www.upguard.com\/blog\/human-factors-in-cybersecurity<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Human Factor in Cybersecurity.\u201d SecurityScorecard<\/em>, 30 Mar. 2026, securityscorecard.com\/blog\/the-human-factor-in-cybersecurity\/<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Adriana Keesecker 09\/24\/2026 CYSE 200 As time goes on and technology advances, the human aspect of technology still determines how successful cybersecurity ends up to be. The human factor when it refers to cybersecurity is the role that we play in protecting or even putting organizations information at risks. Though we have certain security measures… <\/p>\n