Why Prioritizing Users Improves Business Cybersecurity
When security strategies are designed with people in mind, the results speak for themselves. Striking a balance between security and usability is crucial to protect your business while always ensuring productivity does not suffer.
Situations where this balance is tipped to the detriment of security are not uncommon. According to recent research, a high percentage of office employees choose to bypass corporate security protocols, prioritizing their own productivity and avoiding complications when working on tasks. However, this does not mean that they do not value security. On the contrary, most recognize its crucial role in safeguarding the company. An Ernst & Young survey of 1,000 workers in the United States revealed that 34% fear taking actions that leave their organization vulnerable to cyberattacks.
This underscores the need to adopt a human-centered cybersecurity (HCC) approach that seeks to design processes and solutions that are not only secure but also intuitive and aligned with users' motivations and needs.
It is essential to avoid insider threats caused by sub-optimally designed security tools, the overlap of unnecessary measures, or lack of consideration for user feedback.
Advantages of implementing human-centered cybersecurity solutions
When security measures complicate access to necessary resources, friction is generated that hinders daily operations. Implementing solutions that strike the right balance between security and usability is essential to overcome this challenge, and they also deliver key advantages such as:
- User compliance and secure practices: intuitive designs guide the user through secure processes, facilitating the adoption of good practices and decreasing the risk of security breaches.
- Efficient authentication processes: authentication is a fundamental pillar of cybersecurity. Elements such as login screens, password reset mechanisms, and multi-factor authentication (MFA) interfaces should be designed with usability in mind, encouraging users to adopt and correctly employ strong authentication methods.
- Reducing human error: a user-centric solution helps reduce the chances of errors occurring that compromise security. Elements such as error prevention and clear instructions help develop an interface that avoids security breaches.
- Building trust and user adoption: if security measures are difficult to understand, users may avoid or disable them. However, when these measures are clear, transparent, and easy to use, they encourage adoption and compliance with security protocols.
Effective cybersecurity requires a holistic approach that combines technology with people. At WatchGuard, we offer solutions like our MFA, which stand out for ease of use and innovative features, such as device DNA and MFA bombing attack protection. These features not only enhance security but also provide an intuitive experience for users, striking the right balance between effectiveness and usability. This enables employees to comply with security protocols without them becoming an additional burden, integrating protection naturally into their daily workflows.
In short, prioritizing the human factor in the cybersecurity strategy not only strengthens the user experience but becomes a key pillar to protect the organization. This not only lowers risks but also fosters a cybersecurity culture where all employees actively contribute to digital threat defense.
Find out more about how WatchGuard's multi-factor authentication (MFA) can protect your company by checking out the following blog posts:
