We want to start with what may be obvious: your employees. Yes, they're your most valuable business asset. But they're also your largest security risk. And again, we aren't pointing fingers. It just is what it is.

Cyber attackers want access, whether that's your sensitive data or your customers' Personally Identifiable Information (PII). If they can't crack your security from a technical standpoint, they'll try to manipulate a human being into giving it to them. Which is why phishing attacks, social engineering, and stolen credentials are some of the most common attacks.

In many ways, HR plays a more integral role in cybersecurity than your IT department. IT professionals secure networks, computers, and programs. HR secures your employees by setting the tone from day one, ensuring employees follow security policies, and creating a culture where employees own security rather than leaving it solely to IT.

HR's involvement in cybersecurity starts with the employee lifecycle and branches into cultivating a security-minded culture. Here's where HR impacts security the most:

Onboarding and offboarding processes

Onboarding and offboarding employees are key security moments. HR works with IT to make sure new employees receive proper access to programs, data, and services they need to do their jobs. Something as simple as delaying offboarding creates unnecessary risk. You don't want a former employee hanging around your networks longer than they should.

Communicating and enforcing security policies

HR helps communicate and enforce company security policies. If your employees aren't aware of them or they're impossible to follow, pointless policies aren't policies at all. They'll do nothing but collect digital dust on a shared network drive.

Supporting security awareness initiatives

Human-risk-related security incidents generally fall into one of a few categories.

Weak credential management

Employees reuse passwords across multiple accounts, choose easy-to-remember credentials that violate password policies, and sometimes write them down or share them with coworkers. These behaviors give cybercriminals easy entry into your network.

Falling victim to social engineering or phishing

Even security-conscious employees can click on suspicious links when they're stressed, distracted, or rushing through emails. One click can give cybercriminals direct access to your network.

Not reporting suspicious activity soon enough

Employees often don't report clicking on suspicious links because they're scared of getting in trouble, but those two minutes could be all cyber attackers need to penetrate your network. If you establish a culture that punishes mistakes rather than learns from them, employees will continue making mistakes and hiding them, creating larger security risks.

Reduce human risk by preparing for it. Teach your employees to recognize common cyber attacks like phishing emails and train them on what to do if they suspect they've clicked on a malicious link. Remind employees that there are no silly questions.

Coordinating access reviews with IT and security teams

HR should work with IT to regularly review who has access to what systems and data. Regular access audits catch permissions that linger after role changes or project completions.

Reinforcing a culture of early reporting

Establishing a culture of early reporting is one of the best ways HR can impact cybersecurity. Create an environment that encourages employees to report suspicious emails, make mistakes, or notify someone if they feel uneasy about something. If your employees report they clicked on a link right when it happened, your security team can stop the attack sooner. 

By not reporting it immediately, your cyber attackers have all the time in the world to gain access to your network.

It starts with your leadership team setting the example. Something as simple as announcing via email or company meeting that you not only expect security incident reporting but also protect and appreciate it.

Human behavior and cybersecurity don't improve with a one-time training during new employee onboarding. Security awareness training needs to be consistent, ongoing, and not just an annual thing. Hands-on training that walks employees through different cybersecurity scenarios, like phishing simulations, is the best move.

Cybersecurity is a team effort. And when it comes to HR and IT, these two departments shouldn't work in silos.

HR and IT should meet regularly to discuss access management, policy updates, employee onboarding and offboarding, and changes to the company's security strategy. HR also understands the company culture and can relay information to IT about how to properly implement security measures that employees will want to follow.

As with any security initiative, HR needs to measure the success of its security efforts. These might not be traditional security metrics you're used to seeing, but they can help HR determine if their efforts are working.

How long does it take to revoke a former employee's access? Do employees attend security awareness training? What about phishing simulation click rates? Do employees report security incidents? Clicking on a phishing link doesn't always mean someone will report it. If you see an increase in reported security incidents, that may be a good sign that your employees feel comfortable coming to you or your IT department.

Employee surveys can also help identify if employees understand your security policies and feel comfortable reporting mistakes. HR can work with your security teams to identify which metrics matter most to your organization and what "good" looks like. Combined with identity threat detection and response, you get continuous monitoring for compromised credentials, unusual login patterns, and identity-based threats that slip past human awareness.

Ready to reduce identity-driven human risk? Huntress Managed Security Awareness Training (SAT) and Managed Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) work together through training and monitoring to protect your organization. Get a demo of the Huntress platform to see how education and technology combine to create a complete defense against human risk.