Firewalls, endpoint tools, and monitoring platforms are important, but attackers often target people first. The human element is where trust, urgency, curiosity, and helpfulness can be exploited for credentials, wire transfers, or data exposure. The good news is that organizations can strengthen this layer with the same discipline used for technology.
Why the Human Element Is the Prime Target
Modern cybercrime is both high-volume and high-impact. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reports that from 2020–2024 it received 4.2 million complaints and recorded $50.5 billion in reported losses. Even when malware and exploits are involved, many incidents begin with social engineering—messages and interactions designed to get someone to click, share, approve, or pay.
The FDIC defines social engineering as manipulating people to gain unauthorized access to systems or sensitive information, often by exploiting trust, fear, and urgency.
What “Strengthening the Human Element” Actually Means
A strong human layer relies on habits and systems that make secure behavior the default, not on posters or annual training.
1) Build a security culture that makes “pause and verify” normal
FDIC consumer guidance notes that scams often start with messages that appear legitimate and pressure recipients to verify or update information, or visit a fraudulent website.
Culture cues that work:
- Normalize out-of-band verification (e.g., call a known number, not one in the message).
- Encourage employees to report suspicious activity quickly, even if it’s a false alarm.
- Treat near misses as learning opportunities instead of assigning blame.
2) Train for the scenarios people actually face
Train employees on the attack methods adversaries use most often, such as:
- Phishing and credential theft
- Impersonation of executives, vendors, or internal IT
- Urgent payment, invoice, or payroll change requests
- QR-code and mobile (“smishing”) lures
- Deepfake audio/video used to boost credibility
FDIC training emphasizes that if you are suspicious of an email or text, do not reply, click links, open attachments, or provide sensitive information.
3) Reduce mistakes with smart process design
People perform more reliably when workflows are consistent. Practical examples include:
- Two-person approval for vendor banking changes and high-dollar transfers.
- Call-back verification to known numbers for any request to change payment instructions.
- Clear warning banners for external senders and look-alike domains.
- A one-click “Report Phish” mechanism that routes suspicious messages to the response team.
4) Pair human readiness with baseline technical controls
Strong security behaviors are easier to maintain when basic controls are in place. FDIC awareness materials recommend using strong passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever possible, and avoiding password reuse. FDIC consumer guidance also advises against using unsecured Wi-Fi for sensitive transactions.
5) Protect what people handle: PII, sensitive data, and access
Protecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability often depends on how employees handle data and accounts each day, including proper use of approved tools, careful sharing, and prompt reporting of suspicious activity.
A Simple Human-Element Program You Can Implement
A practical 90-day plan includes:
- Baseline reality check: phishing simulation plus a short confidence survey.
- Role-based microtraining: finance (BEC), HR (payroll), IT (access requests), executives (impersonation).
- Process hardening: verification steps for payments, vendor changes, and password resets.
- MFA expansion: prioritize email, VPN, admin tools, and finance systems.
- Report-and-response loop: fast triage, feedback to the reporter, and monthly “lessons learned” summaries.
How DataComm Can Help
DataComm turns security awareness into measurable risk reduction with training, tools, and support:
- Security awareness program design with role-based modules aligned to real attack paths (phishing, BEC, credential theft).
- Phishing simulations and targeted coaching based on behavior trends.
- Email and identity hardening, including MFA rollout support and conditional access policies.
- Verification workflows for high-risk transactions and sensitive data handling.
- Incident readiness: playbooks, tabletop exercises, and escalation paths that make reporting frictionless.
- Executive-ready metrics: click rate, report rate, time-to-report, high-risk group trends, and remediation tracking.
FAQ
What’s the biggest human risk: “not knowing” or “not noticing”?
Usually, the main risk is not noticing. Many scams appear legitimate and exploit urgency or authority. FDIC consumer guidance notes that scams often begin with messages that seem to come from trusted organizations and prompt recipients to verify information or visit a fraudulent site.
Is phishing still the main issue?
Yes—phishing remains a common entry point and supports credential theft, malware delivery, and account takeover. FDIC training describes phishing as fraudulent messaging designed to trick recipients into revealing credentials or installing malware.
Why does Business Email Compromise (BEC) cause such large losses?
Because it targets business processes such as payments, invoices, and vendor changes, where a single successful event can be extremely costly. FBI’s IC3 2024 report lists BEC among the costliest crime types.
What’s the fastest way to reduce risk in a month?
Expand MFA coverage, conduct a phishing simulation to establish a baseline, and strengthen verification for payment and vendor-change workflows. FDIC awareness materials highlight MFA and strong passwords as key defenses.
How should employees respond to a suspicious message?
Do not engage with suspicious messages. Don’t click links, open attachments, or give out information. Report them using your organization’s reporting method.
Call to Action
Treat the human element like any control: set a baseline, improve it, track progress, and reinforce it. FBI’s IC3 loss statistics show annual training alone is inadequate.
DataComm can help you implement a practical, measurable human-risk program, including phishing simulations, role-based training, MFA rollout support, and incident-ready reporting workflows. If you share your environment size, key systems, and high-risk business processes, we can develop a 30/60/90-day plan tailored to your organization without disrupting operations.
References
FDIC – IT Security and Privacy Awareness (PDF)
