For business managers today, the challenge of managing hybrid employees (working onsite and offsite) certainly adds complexity to an already challenging job as a manger. In the current post-pandemic period, the shift to yet another way of working brings new distractions to already distracted people.
If you are managing people figuring out how to navigate in-person work on some days and then video-based remote meetings on others, your attention the business and even to your employees’ mental well-being is another challenge you face.
Add to all of that, your ability to properly manage the cybersecurity risks that are now growing with the hybrid work model.
A report from the email security company Tessian reveals that about half of employees in a recent study cited distraction and fatigue as the main reasons they made a cybersecurity mistake – this is an increase of 34% in 2020. These kinds of common errors, like opening phishing emails or sending email messages to the wrong person, have the potential to cause data breaches that you cannot afford.
What are some ways you can better manage the situation?
Understand Zoom fatigue:
Your people face distractions from both the physical office and the virtual, — mentally exhausting for some. When then fatigue is overwhelming, mistakes happen. Scammers know this and are more likely to send phishing emails later in the working day when a person’s guard is likely down.
Encourage regular breaks between virtual meetings and allow employees to step away from screens throughout the day. Perhaps insert some no-meeting days once in a while.
Know how cybercriminals get in your employees’ heads:
The Tessian study found that over 50% of employees fell for a phishing scam that impersonated a senior executive in 2022. The psychology of impersonating the boss is something that scammers understand. They also understand that we trust certain kinds of communications, like text messaging that we think only involves people in our circle. As more data is leaked by big telecom entities, text messaging has become as risky as email – and as attractive to cybercriminals.
Educate your staff to be aware that messages with unusual requests – or those with a great sense of urgency – should be treated with caution.
Make cybersecurity awareness and knowledge a workplace priority:
As a manager, it is important to understand how factors like distraction and fatigue can impact people’s behaviors, and to appreciate how hard cybercriminals will work to exploit these factors.
For employees, knowing they are encouraged to take a moment to think and avoid mistakes is empowering and bring great benefit to your whole organization.
Where Do I Start?
We have the expertise to help you get started and to make a smart investment. Please contact me for more on how PSN Technology can help your business.
Philipp Emma | philipp@psntech.com | 313-792-8082 x 202
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