Seven steps to keep cybercriminals out

This guide helps you understand the human attack surface and how to protect yourself and your organization.

Emotions open doors

Common trap: People have a strong drive to belong and stay informed. You've probably heard of "Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)" – and that's exactly the kind of behavior attackers love to exploit. FOMO is what makes our hearts race when we see an email with the subject line "How the reorganization affects you" or a text about an unpaid invoice heading to collections.

How to protect yourself: Most of us aren't aware of how much emotions like worry, fear, and curiosity influence our decisions. Reflecting on how emotions affect us is just as important to a strong security strategy as firewalls and updated antivirus software.

Stress makes you careless

Common trap: Who doesn't want to be efficient and deliver quickly? But a fast pace and stress can lead to dangerous shortcuts. We reuse passwords and skip security protocols. And when we're in a hurry, we risk scanning fake QR codes and downloading unsafe apps. Cybercriminals know this and create a sense of urgency to trick you.

How to protect yourself: To avoid letting haste leave the door wide open, we need to talk about the importance of slowing down. Be clear that it's better to miss a deadline or log in later to ensure it's done securely. Multi-factor authentication is a good example of when we're forced to think, take an extra step, and act deliberately.

Don't help the hacker

Common trap: Being helpful is a strength at work, but also a weakness that attackers exploit. We want to be accommodating. That's why we click, share, and open – both digital and physical doors. An email from "the boss" who urgently needs help paying an invoice or a "colleague" asking for a favor to "meet a deadline" can make us act without thinking.

How to protect yourself: The answer isn't to stop being helpful, but to practice being helpful in a secure way. Create a workplace culture that encourages healthy skepticism, and regularly simulate attacks to practice how to respond when it really matters.

Risky habits in a digital everyday

Common trap: Remote work, open Wi-Fi networks, and sick kids playing on work computers make life easier. Unfortunately, hackers think that's great too. The more we mix work and personal life, and take convenient shortcuts with new technology, the more openings we create for attackers.

How to protect yourself: Security must work in everyday life – not just in theory. Employees need to understand the risks in their behavior and have access to secure and user-friendly alternatives. When we make security a natural part of everyday life, such as with simple procedures for reporting attacks and easy-to-understand policies for how work computers may be used, the hacker's job becomes significantly harder.

AI blurs the line between real and fake

Common trap: We trust what we see and hear. That's exactly why deepfakes and voice cloning are so dangerous. A video message from the boss can look credible, and the voice on the phone can sound exactly like a colleague's – but both could be AI-generated.

How to protect yourself: To resist technically advanced manipulation, verifying and double-checking must become a habit. Nothing should slip through just because it seems credible. We need to remind each other to take that extra verification step, and accept that sometimes it takes a bit longer. It's also important that we continuously educate ourselves and stay updated, especially as new technology constantly changes the threat landscape.

Everyone follows the leader

Common trap: Rules that aren't applied in everyday practice do little good, even if they're fundamentally sound and approved by management. And if leaders openly break the rules, like leaving their computer unlocked in the conference room or sharing passwords in an email, policies never gain traction.

How to protect yourselves: When leaders show the way, establish clear security policies, and follow them themselves, it becomes easier for everyone to act correctly. It's not about finger-wagging, but about creating rules that feel meaningful and are followed in everyday practice. When leadership follows rules as a matter of course, the entire organization becomes the strongest link.

Shame is the hacker's best friend

Common trap: It's embarrassing to be caught making a mistake. Whether we took a shortcut around a security protocol or got tricked. Many who fall for it feel ashamed in silence. But silence is dangerous and gives attackers an advantage.

How to protect yourselves: Create a culture where it's safe to make mistakes and okay to talk about them. Practice breaking the impulse to hide errors and make it easy to report suspected incidents. Then the organization can stop attacks in time, learn from what happened, and build stronger procedures for the future.

Tips for building a security-aware organization

• Train continuously and practice with real threats

• Make it easy to report suspected incidents

• Have a clear and educational security policy

• Let security set the pace

• Create a culture where mistakes are okay

Help spread awareness

You can also download the information in this article as a PDF. Print it, bring it to your next meeting, or put it in the break room. The more people who learn about how today's hackers operate, the better your security becomes. Here's the downloadable file: Hackare-bryter-sig-inte-in-de-loggar-in.pdf

The information in this guide is taken from Buckle up! Telia Trend Report 2024

If you want to read more about security, how to avoid getting hacked, and how Telia and Telia Cygate can help, more information is available here: Att bli hackad. Det är inte Telia. – Telia Företag