The Psychology of Human Error: Understanding the mistakes that compromise your company’s cybersecurity

In this report, we share findings from a survey commissioned by Tessian in which 2,000 professionals in the US and UK were asked about mistakes they’ve made at work. We also collaborated with Jeff Hancock, the Harry and Norman Chandler Professor of Communication at Stanford University and expert in trust and deception, to explain how certain factors impact human error and social engineering attacks.

Our research reveals how distraction, stress and fatigue influence people’s ability to consistently make good cybersecurity decisions, and how the events of 2020 have highlighted why now – more than ever – businesses need to protect their employees. We also unpack why a one-size-fits-all approach to cybersecurity training and practices won’t work for today’s workforce. (Hint: It’s because people think and work in different ways).

Readers will:

  1. Learn why protecting people is critical to protecting company data and systems.
  2. Find out why people make mistakes at work and understand how external factors affect our abilities to consistently make safe cybersecurity decisions.
  3. Understand how to prevent mistakes from happening before they turn into breaches.

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