Database Security
Authentication
Privacy
Compliance
Identity & Access Management
Security Monitoring
Advanced Threats
Insider Threats
Vulnerability Management

Careers & People

Stop Blaming Users. Make Security User-Friendly.

50%
50%

Jelle Niemantsverdriet of Deloitte visits the Dark Reading News Desk at Black Hat to explain how security can be improved if security tools, error messages, and help desk calls educate users and 'put a smile on someone's face.'

Comment  | 
Print  | 
Comments
Newest First  |  Oldest First  |  Threaded View
bboink1
100%
0%
bboink1,
 User Rank: Strategist
9/15/2016 | 10:09:50 AM
Users Still need the Blame
Users are the weakest link.  When the security measures are in place and the user still does the wrong thing because there are no consequences adapting the security to them is a futile effort.  The only fix to that is to hold the users accountable.  Case in point, trying to make cars that keep you in your lane or stop for you is needed because people are not paying attention.  How about when they cause an accident due to texting and driving they get rewarded with license revocation.

As far as taking the empathy approach with the user, it is difficult to build security around the "I am going to do what I am going to do regardless of what I am supposed to do" attitude. No matter how friendly you make the security if it inhibits the user from doing what they want they will ignore and find a way around.

Designing better error messages for the users is a good idea.  It is possible if the error message was informative it would help the tech that has to work on it.  .That being said most of the users do not read the error message so that would not help a user.  Just as they do not read the popup that downloads the cropto-ware on their system.  An example of this is when the help desk gets the call of "It just stopped working," and "I didn't do anything."  Of course the answer of "ummm....I don't know" when asked "What did the error message say?"  Users just click without reading.

The point of rewarding them for doing what they are supposed to do is like giving them a trophy for showing up.  Then they will expect a trophy all of the time and the value of the "incentive" will diminish.  This is what created the situation that we are in with the users not caring now.

I do agree that security must be made to be a bit more user friendly.  I also believe that the users will adapt in a downward direction to put us back in the same situation.  I think accountability is the direction that will produce a bigger bang for the buck.
Valentine's Emails Laced with Gandcrab Ransomware
Kelly Sheridan, Staff Editor, Dark Reading,  2/14/2019
High Stress Levels Impacting CISOs Physically, Mentally
Jai Vijayan, Freelance writer,  2/14/2019
Mozilla, Internet Society and Others Pressure Retailers to Demand Secure IoT Products
Curtis Franklin Jr., Senior Editor at Dark Reading,  2/14/2019
Register for Dark Reading Newsletters
White Papers
Video
Cartoon
Current Issue
5 Emerging Cyber Threats to Watch for in 2019
Online attackers are constantly developing new, innovative ways to break into the enterprise. This Dark Reading Tech Digest gives an in-depth look at five emerging attack trends and exploits your security team should look out for, along with helpful recommendations on how you can prevent your organization from falling victim.
Flash Poll
How Enterprises Are Attacking the Cybersecurity Problem
How Enterprises Are Attacking the Cybersecurity Problem
Data breach fears and the need to comply with regulations such as GDPR are two major drivers increased spending on security products and technologies. But other factors are contributing to the trend as well. Find out more about how enterprises are attacking the cybersecurity problem by reading our report today.
Twitter Feed
Dark Reading - Bug Report
Bug Report
Enterprise Vulnerabilities
From DHS/US-CERT's National Vulnerability Database
CVE-2019-3812
PUBLISHED: 2019-02-19
QEMU, through version 2.10 and through version 3.1.0, is vulnerable to an out-of-bounds read of up to 128 bytes in the hw/i2c/i2c-ddc.c:i2c_ddc() function. A local attacker with permission to execute i2c commands could exploit this to read stack memory of the qemu process on the host.
CVE-2019-8933
PUBLISHED: 2019-02-19
In DedeCMS 5.7SP2, attackers can upload a .php file to the uploads/ directory (without being blocked by the Web Application Firewall), and then execute this file, via this sequence of steps: visiting the management page, clicking on the template, clicking on Default Template Management, clicking on ...
CVE-2019-7629
PUBLISHED: 2019-02-18
Stack-based buffer overflow in the strip_vt102_codes function in TinTin++ 2.01.6 and WinTin++ 2.01.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending a long message to the client.
CVE-2019-8919
PUBLISHED: 2019-02-18
The seadroid (aka Seafile Android Client) application through 2.2.13 for Android always uses the same Initialization Vector (IV) with Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) Mode to encrypt private data, making it easier to conduct chosen-plaintext attacks or dictionary attacks.
CVE-2019-8917
PUBLISHED: 2019-02-18
SolarWinds Orion NPM before 12.4 suffers from a SYSTEM remote code execution vulnerability in the OrionModuleEngine service. This service establishes a NetTcpBinding endpoint that allows remote, unauthenticated clients to connect and call publicly exposed methods. The InvokeActionMethod method may b...