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25% of workers lost jobs after compromises

Mar 31— In business, employee mistakes on the job can cost employers time, attention and resources. When it comes to company security, a simple phishing mistake can lead to data compromise and large-scale financial repercussions.

A new survey of 2,000 working professionals across the US and the UK indicates that one in four employees lost their job in the last 12 months after compromising their organization’s security.

Given the increased volume of phishing threats, and their uncanny ability to evade detection, an increasing number of people are falling for such scams. In turn, businesses are paying the price and ridding themselves of mistake-making workers.

Key survey findings

  • Forty percent of employees unintentionally distributed an email to the wrong recipient. Nearly a third of this group stated that their business lost a client or a customer on account of the error.
  • Over one third of employees have made a mistake at work that caused cyber security concern. Fewer people than previously are reporting their mistakes to their information technology departments, likely in fear of consequences.
  • In the US, the average employee sends four emails to the wrong person every month. When these emails cause compromise, some organizations take a tough stance. But is this the right approach?
  • One in four employees (25%) reported losing a job due to a security error in the past twelve months. This is up from 12% in July of 2022.
  • Thirty-five percent of individuals had to report the breach to the affected client, leading to a reduction in business trust and a damaged client relationship.

The larger story

Wondering about why employee email mistakes happen? Fifty percent of surveyed employees said they were under pressure to send emails quickly and over 40% of respondents cited distraction and fatigue as contributing factors.

To get the full story, visit Forbes. Lastly, to receive cutting-edge cyber security news, insights, best practices and analyses in your inbox each week, sign up for the CyberTalk.org newsletter.