UK organisations are not well prepared to fight increasingly sophisticated cyber threats posed by social engineering, according to the latest Blue Coat survey.
54% of UK employees said they would connect with strangers on social media, while 56% have not set up access controls to their social media, leaving them vulnerable to hackers.
The study revealed UK female employees are more aware of cyber threats than male colleagues. 52% of females had set up privacy settings so only certain people can see their full profiles, compared to just 36% of men.
18 to 24-year-olds were found to be more cautious about who accesses their social media data on mobile apps, with 62% checking strangers’ profiles before connecting with them. This contrasts with 33% of 45 to 54-year-olds.
The research also found that 18% of UK employees have never had IT security training, and only 10% have regular sessions. Training and guidance on phishing has only been given to 6% of those surveyed.
Hugh Thompson, CTO at Blue Coat: "As the seriousness and complexity of threats grows, businesses need to employ security measures, including training, that take into account the habits and behaviours of employees to better protect the enterprise.
"Security measures need to be seamless and tailored to enforce cyber-safe behaviour recognising that even the paranoid can be phished."
