With 307 trillion emails being sent out every day, it is not surprising that sometimes something goes terribly wrong and leads to a data breach. Unsurprisingly: human error remains the number one cause of data breaches.
In 66% of cases, a data leak is caused by sending sensitive information to the wrong person. We can't take human beings out of the equation, but we can make our data protection systems smarter. Ever auto-filled out the wrong Peter? Attached the wrong file? The odds of a data leak significantly decrease by confirming your attachments and recipients before sending out your email.
For today's blog we're going to talk you through how to prevent human error by confirming your files and recipients.
Data breaches could happen to you
Most data leaks are caused by human error. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
How? Well no one accused anyone of doing it on purpose... A data breach can be as simple as sending information to the wrong recipient. The number is higher than you'd expect: 95% of data breaches are due to human error, according to IBM's study.
According to the latest data breach report by IBM and the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach increased 2.6% from USD 4.24 million in 2021 to USD 4.35 million in 2022. That makes sending out information to the wrong recipient a costly business!
Of course, no one is perfect. Fatigue or sloppiness happens to the best of us. It's not a problem when you say 'Hi mom' to your coworker (however embarrassing it might be), but it does become a problem when mom receives the latest information on the new hire's social security number.
No one intends to do it, but people make mistakes. One factor stands out: a lack of awareness. Remain vigilant! Though it might also be time to update your email security provider to keep you safe. Two pair of eyes work better than one, right?
Take human error out of data breaches
We're only human, but it is definitely possible to mitigate the risk of data breaches by giving our users the best possible tools available.
Think of the following scenario:
It's a Friday afternoon, 4.30 p.m. You're tired, looking forward to company drinks, but you promised your colleague Peter to update them on your customer Sarah. You hit the keys, select Sarah's file, and type in Peter's email address. Quick, quick, you can smell the beers already! You send off the email to the first Peter in your contact list and... the dread sets in. Wrong Peter. Your worst fears are confirmed when your business relation Peter Smith (not Johnson!) replies to your email. Damn. Now you have to report to the head of security and kiss those drinks goodbye.
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We'd like to help you so you no longer have to worry about any of that. Not only will your company drinks be saved, but more importantly: you don't have to double-check the info anymore. SmartLockr does that for you.
SmartLockr developed a feature that requires both files and recipients to be confirmed before sending your message. That means:
- The user will be aware that (sensitive) data will be shared;
- If you've uploaded an incorrect file, you'll notice it during this check. After all, you have to check and confirm all attached files;
- Then there's your recipients. If you clicked the wrong Peter during the autofill stage? You'll be able to see and correct that here.
But what if you're already sent the email to Peter Smith instead of Peter Johnson? We got you covered. SmartLockr not only allows you that extra check, but you're able to recall the sent email and block the files.
Errors are made quickly, that's the nature of being human. That's why we're making things easier on you by preventing the most common risk of data leaks: you. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone. ;)
Curious on how we can help you do that? Take a look at our video and get a feeling for what that looks like:
