Your Employees Are The Biggest Cybersecurity Risk To Your Business. Here’s The Fix

As a business owner, this makes your employees your biggest cybersecurity risk.

Businesses have come to understand the importance of boosting cyber protection against external threats, with increasing numbers taking comprehensive measures to minimise the risk of an attack. Yet, many fail to address the obvious risk of employee error.

E2E Technologies designs and implements cybersecurity tools and procedures that protect our clients from all types of cyber threats. Here, we explore why employees and human error pose the biggest risk to cybersecurity, and how you can fix this problem within your business.

Why UK employees are the biggest cybersecurity risk to businesses

Even your most loyal, proactive, diligent employee doesn’t value your business as much as you do, so protecting it from cyber threats won’t be as high on their list of priorities as it is on yours. They will naturally have good days and bad days, so they may not always be on high alert when exposed to a potential breach. This is when human error comes into play. Meanwhile, for some employees, cybersecurity is simply not on their radar.

Ways in which your employees put your business at risk of a cyberattack

The use of weak or regularly used passwords

The most simple and most obvious deterrent against cyberattacks is the use of strong passwords. Employees often prioritise using a simple password that is easy to remember over creating a complex, strong password that is harder to unlock. Many will also use the same password across different accounts or applications, which leaves you open to ‘credential stuffing’ whereby hackers use lists of compromised user IDs to attack a system.

Ignoring software updates

Software updates install the latest cybersecurity fixes and malware defences. Employees who ignore software updates, particularly when using their own devices, leave your business vulnerable to attack.

Being unaware of security policies (or just ignoring them)

If employees don’t have access to clear cybersecurity policies, or they simply choose to ignore them, they will be unaware of the critical protocols they should be following.

Falling victim to phishing emails

According to the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025, phishing attacks remain ‘the most prevalent and disruptive type of breach or attack’ experienced by 85% of businesses. Phishing attacks are so sophisticated and convincing that even the most vigilant employees can be tricked into downloading an infected document or clicking on a malicious link.

Fake business emails

Also known as business email compromise (BEC), employees might unwittingly respond to fake business emails that appear to have been sent by a colleague or regular contact, in which they are instructed to send money to a hacker’s account or share sensitive data.

Use of collaboration tools and AI

79% of respondents to the Mimecast survey agree there are new security threats in the use of collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, Slack and Google Meet where hackers use techniques based on social engineering to rely on exploiting trust between colleagues.

Typical mistakes you might make as the employer

We’ve looked at how employees can be a threat. Let’s now turn the tables and make this about you. How are you allowing employees to pose such a threat? Where do you need to take ownership of the problem?

Ignoring software updates

Just like your employees, if you fail to install software updates across the business, you are effectively inviting hackers with open arms.

Inadequate data handling practices

Poor data handling practices, such as allowing employees to save files on personal devices or send data insecurely without encryption, makes your business vulnerable to attack.

Lack of training

If your employees are not trained in cybersecurity, they won’t have the tools to be vigilant and proactive in keeping your data and IT systems safe.

Lack of multifactor authentication (MFA)

Multifactor authentication, or two step verification, is an additional layer of security against human error or a lack of vigilance.

Unclear cybersecurity policies

If cybersecurity policies are unclear and not easily accessible, employees cannot be expected to abide by them.

How can you fix the employee cybersecurity risk problem?

What steps can you take to make cybersecurity a core function of each employee’s role, to the point where their approach or response to a cyber threat becomes instinctive rather than an afterthought?

Start with robust procedures as a foundation for changing behaviours:

Run regular software updates and steer clear of old systems

Ensure software updates are implemented immediately, and move away from old systems with outdated software.

Implement multifactor authentication

Introduce multifactor authentication as a belt and braces approach. Giving your business an extra line of defence may appear to be inconvenient to employees but this isn’t a popularity contest.

Enforce regular password changes using strong passwords only

Automate regular password changes to force employees to update their passwords for both site based equipment and remote logins.

Having implemented new procedures and protocols, from here it is about education and cultural shift:

Integrate robust security policies across the business

Policies and best practices with clear expectations around data handling, passwords and vigilance will reduce the opportunity for human error.

Incorporate cybersecurity into your onboarding program

An onboarding program that outlines your security policies and clearly defines cyber threats with real-life examples will send the message to your new employee that they have a responsibility to uphold those policies throughout their daily tasks.

Deliver regular, role specific cybersecurity training

Keep banging the cybersecurity drum throughout employment with cybersecurity training that is relevant to each person’s role.

Introduce and manage device security and safe remote working

Make each employee responsible for the security of their own device, both digitally and physically. Antivirus software should be installed on all devices and regularly updated, along with any installed apps. Laptops should also not be left unattended in public spaces.

Ensure leavers’ security access is terminated immediately

Disgruntled leavers can be a threat to your cybersecurity. Any personal devices should be cleared of all company data, and the employee’s access should be terminated immediately.

Speak to E2E Technologies to support your employees with cybersecurity

E2E Technologies is a managed IT provider that specialises in cybersecurity. We can help to protect your business from human error to reduce the risk of data breaches and cybersecurity incidents. Speak to our team to find out more about our services.