Will We Ever Get Human 2.0? - Twenty-Four Seven Security

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December 05, 2007
Will We Ever Get Human 2.0?

Another day, another data breach survey...you know, I'm really starting to feel like data breaches are becoming the leading cause of statistics. But this most recent one, found over at Dark Reading, is interesting, as it points out that, as you buy every gadget and gizmo to protect your precious data, it's the human-driven data leak that remains the leading cause of most data disasters.

This survey, undertaken by the Information Security Forum (ISF), studied 887 leaks, and found that most leaks were accidental and non-technical. This survey is a bit different in that, as there have been numerous insider-attack surveys, most focused on online leaks while ignoring the types of data leaks that have been around since before there were targeted data attacks (yes, there once was a time).

These data slips -- like sending an email to the wrong address, or sensitive documents left at the copy machine, or employees simply leaving the office with high-priority data -- are generally accidental and not malicious, and feature the one indispensable, unupgradable element: the human being. This human being often loses data simply by not thinking: by being overheard in a restaurant, by being shoulder surfed at a coffee shop, or even leaking the data on social networking sites.

Some of the data losses were less expected, like "print screen" capabilities or screen shots saved on mobile devices, or meta data hidden within a file.

But until the human 2.0 version comes along (better security, more memory, better looking), the best way to stamp out these types of leaks is through pure security awareness. As Simone Seth, senior research analyst at ISF says. "I know it's a tired phrase, but we're talking about human behavior here, and the only way to correct the problem is to correct the behavior." Enterprises need to enforce security policies so that there are consequences for leakage, she says.