Online and information security and safety can be likened to any other kind of security and safety in the workplace.
Get Safe Online's top tips...
- Always remember that employee behaviour normally represents the greatest threat to the safety and security of any online / information system.
- Regular training, reinforcement and monitoring are vital.
For example:
You have an intruder alarm: do your colleagues / employees leave the code on a Post-it on their desk?
You have a clearly-marked fire escape route: do you follow it in the event of a fire, or try to leave another way?
Your lathes and grinders are fitted with safety guards and cut-off switches: do your operatives disable them before getting to work?
Workplace security and safety depend as much on human behaviour as the physical and technological systems you put in place. Nowhere is this truer than in online and information security and safety.
We cannot overstate the importance of induction and regular training in order to educate on and reinforce on rules, procedures and best practice, supported by why these are necessary, and the consequences. In addition, human nature being what it is, colleagues / employees should also be monitored to ensure that they maintain good habits and compliance. If these do not happen, laziness, apathy, procrastination, abdication of responsibility and generally slipping into bad habits will normally result.