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You might think that your younger employees are more tech-savvy and cyber-aware than their older counterparts. But you'd be wrong.
A new study reveals a surprising twist in the tale of cyber security risks – your younger workers may be your biggest weakness.
How so? Let's take a closer look.
The study surveyed over 6,500 employees worldwide, with a balanced representation of age groups. The findings were quite shocking.
The study showed that office workers under 40 are more likely to ignore basic password security practices. For instance, 34% confessed to using their birth dates as passwords, compared to only 19% of those over 40.
But that's not all.
Younger workers also tend to use the same password for multiple devices, with 38% admitting to this bad habit.
And what about phishing attacks? A disturbing 23% of the younger group didn't report the last phishing email they received. Their excuse? "I didn't think it was important".
But surely they are aware of the serious threats that cyber criminals pose to businesses, right? Well, not really.
While ransomware and phishing were recognized as major threats by 23% and 22% of employees respectively, the overall level of cyber security awareness was very low.
Here's the worst part: a huge number of the respondents said that their organizations did NOT offer any compulsory cyber security training.
From the US (30%) to the UK (17%), Netherlands (32%), Japan (35%), India (31%), Germany (22%), France (43%), Australia (29%) and China (65%) – the numbers are alarming.
So, can we really blame our young workforce when it's clear that businesses are not doing enough to train their employees on cyber security skills?
It's time we stopped treating cyber security as an optional extra and started providing regular cyber education for everyone in our businesses. Yes, EVERYONE. Not just the IT team or the managers, but every single employee.
At the end of the day, it's not just about protecting your business; it's about creating a safer digital world for us all.
We can help you do that. Contact us for a complimentary cyber risk assessment.