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Writer's pictureAline Silva | PhishX

Why is it essential to identify risky digital behaviors?

Updated: May 10

We live in an increasingly digitized world, all processes that were previously done manually can now be accessed from computers or mobile phones anywhere in the world.

 

With this behavior, the amount of data generated increases and imposes constant challenges on organizations, especially when it comes to risk analysis.

 

Therefore, risk assessment is an ally of organizations to keep their data safe and identify risky digital behaviors.

 

This assessment assists in identifying potential incidents, theft of sensitive data, industrial espionage, and other cybercrime.

 

How does your organization deal with data and people's digital behavior? Want to know how to identify these potential risks? Keep reading this text and learn more.


What is digital behavior?


First of all, it is important to understand what digital behavior is and how it can be a risk for organizations.

 

When we talk about digital behavior, we associate it with how a person acts on the internet, and this is indeed true, but it is not only this issue. This term refers to how the impacts of increased use of technology influence our lives.

 

After all, we spend the day connected, whether it's in our jobs or in our personal lives. With this, we don't disconnect for a single moment from technology and answer emails from work in our leisure time or personal matters in the workplace.

 

That is precisely where the risks lie. This extremely connected life puts our privacy and the security of our information at risk.

 

Any slip-up such as a dangerous email or the installation of malicious software can open security holes and put our data at risk.

 

As we are connected on many personal devices and in the workplace, this vulnerability can have serious consequences for companies.

 

That's why it's critical for organizations to identify these risks and for people to know how to deal with these threats.


What does risk behavior analysis look like?


As we have seen, digital behavior puts the security of companies at risk. That's why analyzing people's behavior is so important, it's responsible for:


  • Monitor;

  • Collect;

  • Check;

  • Validate.

 

All the activities of the people who work in an organization. As the challenges are many due to the digital behavior of our society, it is necessary to analyze the data so that it is possible to combat and prevent fraud.

 

This analysis maps the threats that can compromise an organization's security and understands the behavior patterns of people, systems, and devices on a computer network.

 

To measure these risks, attack simulations can be implemented, so organizations can measure people's maturity and identify patterns of behavior.

 

In this way, it is possible to detect suspicious or potentially dangerous activities that may indicate a security threat.

 

Risk analysis is not only about preventing attacks, it works to establish agile and efficient responses to incidents if they happen.

 

Therefore, with the results in hand, Information Technology teams are able to create actions to mitigate the risks encountered.


People and their risk behaviors


People tend to engage in risky behaviors around cybersecurity for a variety of reasons. Some of them do not have information about security practices.

 

And because they do not have this direct contact with the issues, they are unaware of the importance of preventive behavior.

 

In addition, there are those who fight against the issue, believing that cyberattacks are aimed at other ends, and, most of the time, reproduce risky behaviors.

 

These people usually do not take training and consider security policies as obligations imposed by the organization.

 

Another very common behavior is people who have just joined the organization and are still having contact with the organizational culture. They reproduce dangerous actions because they don't know how to protect themselves.

 

But beyond that, organizations tend to deal with skeptics, who are those who care little about digital security and don't contribute to establishing a culture of digital protection.

 

With this, they treat cybersecurity as a topic within the organization and not as something fundamental that directly impacts their daily lives.

 

When should behavior analysis be done?


As we have seen, there are several risk profiles in organizations, so the analysis must be done continuously.

 

After all, threats are present in everyone's lives, so it is important to recognize them so that defense mechanisms can be created.

 

Institutions need to pay attention to the importance of incorporating this type of monitoring into all their strategic planning and reinforce actions aimed at cybersecurity.

 

This analysis is very important to guide decisions focused on security policies. After all, with the crossing of data, it is possible to analyze, identify and mitigate risk actions.

 

People need proper follow-up, demonstrating real, everyday applications of the ways cybercriminals carry out cyberattacks.

 

In this way, it is necessary to demonstrate the importance of cybersecurity, bringing issues related to digital protection to people's reality.

 

What are the steps of risk behavior analysis?

 

To carry out risk behavior analysis, it is necessary to carry out some steps, see below what they are.


Identification of risks


The first step should be done to recognize the company's level of security and think about situations that may arise and become a risk to information security.

 

This step needs to take into account everything from more serious and specific situations, such as an AiTM attack, to more routine processes, such as people's behavior and how they deal with information security.

 

Teams need to identify any and all threats, this is one of the most important steps in the entire process.


Risk analysis


Once you have identified all the risks that may surround the organization, it is time to measure the impact they may cause and calculate what efforts will be necessary and the measures that should be taken to mitigate these threats.

 

At this stage, it is important that the risks are analyzed from the highest to the lowest. This is because, during combat actions, new threats can emerge and put operations at risk.

 

Thus, identifying them early is important so that actions are more effective and teams know what risks they expect.


Evaluation and strategies


At this stage, it's time to define strategies to counterattack threats. For example, if it has been identified that people are more susceptible to falling for phishing scams, it is time to reinforce training around this topic.

 

But if people are struggling to create complex passwords and manage them, it may be time to send out announcements informing them of the importance passwords play in data security.

 

Risk monitoring


Once all the analysis and identification of risks is done, it is time to monitor and evaluate these threats. At this stage, it is important that everything is listed and that it is identified what measures were taken and whether they had positive or negative results.

 

This step should be done continuously throughout the evaluation process. Because it is this information that will guide actions aimed at cybersecurity.


PhishX in Identifying Digital Risk Behaviors


As we have seen, the analysis of digital risk behaviors is important for organizations, it is through this assessment that it is possible to identify and mitigate cyber threats.

 

In addition, this entire process is done in stages, and the primary part is precisely to identify all the risks. PhishX is a complete ecosystem that assists organizations throughout the process.

 

This is because, through our platform, it is possible to trigger attack simulations and extract results in real time, so organizations can measure the existing risks in their teams.

 

In these reports, it is possible to identify how many people fell into the simulations and which of them took the training. In addition, it is possible to perform vulnerability analysis of devices and know the risks they pose to the organization.

 

All this information is made available in graphs that allow a better observation of all the data.

 

In addition, our ecosystem has training, booklets, videos and announcements. In this way, by evaluating the data, it is still possible to create cybersecurity actions to solve problems and raise awareness in a single place.

 

PhishX is an all-in-one platform that helps companies identify risks and create actions to combat and mitigate threats.

 

Want to know more? Get in touch with our team, schedule a demo and identify possible risks to your business. Assessing people's behavior is essential to an organization's cybersecurity.



White man talking on the phone with a surprised face, he is sitting on a chair at an office desk.
People's behaviors can be a risk to the organization.

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