Research by Alert Online shows that consumers and employees alike don’t always act safely online. Despite various awareness campaigns, online safety remains a challenge.
This is based on Alert Online’s annual national cybersecurity survey (Dutch), made possible in part by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZK) and Climate Policy.
4 barriers
How can organisations encourage their employees to adopt structurally safe digital behaviour? The full survey by Alert Online is in Dutch, but here are the 4 key barriers it identifies that are worth addressing for meaningful change:
- Inertia: behaviour is postponed or avoided when it feels like too much effort or hassle.
- Procedural knowledge: people often have theoretical knowledge (knowing what), but lack the practical skills.
- Perceived usefulness: not everyone sees the point of additional measures.
- Social norms: other people’s behaviour is invisible, making us less likely to copy others’ safe cyber behaviour.
AI increases risks within organisations
The survey shows that employees regularly use AI in their work. However, not everyone knows which AI tools the organisation permits. In addition, almost half sometimes use a private AI account for work-related tasks. Some employees submit work-related questions to AI tools, which can result in company or customer information being stored on external systems.
Safe behaviour must become a habit
According to the researchers, the key lies not only in technology but above all in behaviour. Organisations are better protected when two-factor authentication is enabled by default. In addition, employees must be able to report suspicious incidents easily. An open reporting culture and clear agreements help to stop minor incidents quickly.
Cybersecurity Month
October is Cybersecurity Month! This means a great deal of knowledge is shared around the theme of cybersecurity. The Government-wide Cyber Programme is organising various webinars and a masterclass. A selection from the programme:
- 27 October: ESET – The lessons from Ukraine (Dutch)
- 1 November: Masterclass ‘Preparing for the threats of the future’ (Dutch)
- 10 November: Webinar ‘Administrative responsibility under the Cyberbeveiligingsact (NIS2 implementation)’ (Dutch)
Caribbean Cyber Resilience webinars
The Government-wide Cyber Programme has also planned 3 Caribbean Cyber Resilience webinars, tailored to the Caribbean context, in English:
- Help! My organisation has been hacked. What now?
- Building digital resilience together: How public and private organisations across the Kingdom work together
- Sovereignty and geopolitics: Getting a grip on digital dependencies
Check weerbaredigitaleoverheid.nl and Caribbean News for updates; further details will follow.
