Key points

• Employee actions significantly impact a company’s security, with 68% of breaches involving a non-malicious human element. A strong security posture among employees—built through education and awareness—can prevent data breaches, regulatory penalties, and reputational damage.
• Employees with a strong security posture exhibit awareness of cybersecurity threats, adhere to company policies, engage in training programs, and proactively report security risks. Their active participation makes them part of the "human firewall" that protects an organization's sensitive data.
• Organizations should regularly evaluate employee security posture through audits, behavioral monitoring, engaging training sessions, and feedback collection. Addressing knowledge gaps with role-specific training and fostering a culture of security awareness ensures cybersecurity remains a shared responsibility.

One of the most critical components of a company’s overall security strategy is its employees. 

As the frontline defenders of the company’s most critical assets, employees' actions can directly impact the likelihood of a data breach or leak. With 68% of breaches involving a non-malicious human element, it’s clear that employee education could make the difference between keeping the organisation intact or facing hefty penalties, and ultimately damage to your brand’s reputation. 

In this article, we’ll explore the importance of employee security posture, the key indicators of a strong one, and practical steps to improve it within your organisation.

What is an employees’ security posture and why is it important?

An employee's security posture is their ability to safeguard sensitive company data. This can be improved by increasing their understanding of the organization's security practices and their role-specific responsibilities.

Employees are essential to protecting sensitive data, serving as a crucial line of defense.  Their understanding of how their actions affect the organization and their vigilance in reporting potential threats can significantly enhance overall security. Consequently, behaviors like oversharing information—with colleagues or external parties—can expose the business to data breaches or leaks, underscoring the importance of employee awareness and responsible data handling.

Organizations must prioritize evaluating and improving employees' security posture to avoid compliance violations, data breaches, reputational damage, and other significant risks.

What are the key indicators of a strong employee security posture? 

There are a few key indicators of a strong employee security posture: 

1. Awareness of Cybersecurity Threats: Employees can identify and avoid threats like phishing, social engineering, and malware.
2. Adherence to Company Policies: Consistent practice of password hygiene, secure device usage, and following data access protocols.
3. Engagement in Training Programs: Regular participation in cybersecurity training and applying learned best practices.
4. Proactive Reporting: Employees report suspicious activities, potential vulnerabilities, or policy violations to the appropriate teams.

When an employee is actively involved in cybersecurity initiatives, their employee posture is strengthened, and they become part of the human firewall that can protect your organisation’s greatest asset - its data.

4 steps to evaluate employee security posture

To evaluate your team's data security awareness, follow these four essential steps:

1. Reviewing adherence to company policies

Biannual audits are a good way to check in with your employees and ensure that they are adhering to critical security measures, including access control protocols. These audits can help confirm that your team is implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) across your SaaS applications and following Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) guidelines.

2. Monitoring employee behaviour 

Using a DLP tool like Metomic to monitor access controls and file-sharing habits can highlight gaps in employee knowledge, and specific departments that might need further group training. 

3. Providing engaging security training sessions 

with your team may not be the most beneficial way of establishing your security procedures throughout the organisation. Instead, find engaging methods of training that make your policies sticky such as phishing simulations or quizzes. In this clip, Susan Richards, VP of Information Security at Tend, tells Metomic CEO, Rich Vibert, about the techniques she uses to help her workforce protect their passwords:

4.  Gather feedback from your team 

Instead of mandating training for your employees, try asking them how they would prefer to receive security awareness training. This will ensure that they are on board and willing to participate. After the training, measure employee confidence and comprehension of security practices using surveys.

How to address weaknesses in security posture

Once you’ve identified the specific teams or individuals who need to improve their security posture, it’s essential to lead tailored training sessions that address knowledge gaps such as recognising phishing emails or understanding secure file-sharing practicesRole-specific training can help employees understand how security measures apply to their daily work and responsibilities.

Security teams can also take action to secure their most critical assets by limiting access to sensitive files, and restricting access to high-risk individuals. Using a least-privilege approach, employees should only be given access to the sensitive data they need to do their job effectively, rather than being able to view all customer or company information. 

Building a culture of security awareness

It’s crucial that a culture of security awareness is encouraged so that employees feel comfortable asking for help. 

To prevent critical security issues from going unnoticed and potentially causing data breaches or leaks, the security team should proactively introduce themselves to the entire organization and establish easily accessible communication channels for employees to voice any concerns.

While it’s important to notice where there may be gaps in security knowledge, it’s also vital that employees who follow good cyber security practices are rewarded for their behaviour, in order to motivate others in the team. 

A culture of awareness ensures security becomes a shared responsibility, reducing vulnerabilities across the organisation.

How Metomic can help

Metomic’s platform offers key features that can help improve an employee’s security posture and safeguard sensitive data:

Enhance data access control: Metomic ensures employees only access the data they need, reducing the risk of accidental or unauthorised exposure.

Monitor and track data usage: The platform tracks how employees interact with sensitive data, flagging risky actions and raising awareness on data security best practices.

Provide automated security reminders: With automated alerts, employees are reminded of secure data handling practices, keeping security top of mind.

Simplify compliance: Metomic helps employees stay compliant with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA, reducing the chance of legal violations and ensuring proper data management.