Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning , Events , Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development

Human Risk Crisis: 8% of Employees Cause 80% of Incidents

Mimecast's Masha Sedova on Using a Metrics-Driven Approach to Mitigate Human Risk
Masha Sedova, vice president, human risk strategy, Mimecast

Verizon's 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report shows that 68% of all breaches in 2023 involved the human element. But organizations have not evolved their approach to addressing human risk, said Masha Sedova, vice president, human risk strategy, Mimecast. Traditional security awareness initiatives, often fixated on training participation and engagements, are inadequate in mitigating incidents triggered by employees' risky behaviors, she said.

See Also: AI vs. AI Combating Cybercriminals with an AI-Powered Security Awareness Training Program

To overcome the limitations of traditional security approaches, businesses need to "look at the kind of security tools" they have in place and "the risky decisions that employees make that are tied to the logs that you're collecting in the security tools. You can pull that in to start creating a security credit score," Sedova said.

She suggested using artificial intelligence and machine learning to examine the data generated by these security tools and "find key pockets of risks that you need to focus on. What we're seeing in our datasets is that about 8% of employees cause 80% of incidents. When you have a large dataset like that, being able to lean into machine learning and AI to help find key trends and analysis is a huge game changer."

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2024, Sedova also discussed:

  • The challenges of using only reactive, network-centric security solutions;
  • Fortifying defenses via the dual approach of controlling access and verifying endpoints;
  • Demonstrating ROI by tying human risk management programs to reductions in user-initiated incidents.

Sedova co-founded Elevate Security to help organizations identify risky employees, reduce the likelihood of future incidents and proactively defend their workforce. She has more than 20 years of leadership experience and previously worked for Salesforce and the National Cyber Security Alliance.


About the Author

Rahul Neel Mani

Rahul Neel Mani

Founding Director of Grey Head Media and Vice President of Community Engagement and Editorial, ISMG

Neel Mani is responsible for building and nurturing communities in both technology and security domains for various ISMG brands. He has more than 25 years of experience in B2B technology and telecom journalism and has worked in various leadership editorial roles in the past, including incubating and successfully running Grey Head Media for 11 years. Prior to starting Grey Head Media, he worked with 9.9 Media, IDG India and Indian Express.




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