Security nudges are important for Human Risk Management training because the human brain tends to act quickly if it receives instruction based on the current scenario.
When it comes to Human Risk Management training, understanding human behavior and psychology is always very important. Therefore, we will dive deeply into the science behind security nudges, how they can be used in Human Risk Management, and how we at Right-Hand use nudging as a part of our HRM training interventions. So let’s get started!
The Science Behind Nudges
Put simply, we can define nudges as notifications, messages, or prompts to influence user behaviors. In Cybersecurity, a security nudge impacts or improves a user’s security posture.
Why Do Nudges Work?
Before answering this question, we must understand the science behind human decision-making. According to Daniel Kahneman, the human brain generally has two different systems for processing information. How do they work?
| System 1 | System 2 |
|---|---|
Relies on intuition and instinct | Carefully processes information |
Makes quick and unconscious decisions | Makes rational decisions |
Used to perform day-to-day tasks | Used for complex decision-making |
Based on these characteristics of System 1 and System 2, we can say that whenever we make decisions with System 1, we tend to take shortcuts and hence, are more prone to errors and mistakes. On the other hand, with System 2, we can make more informed decisions. Unfortunately, humans only spend 5% of their time using System 2.
Therefore, as a security professional, our goal should always be to somehow convince people to make more rational decisions or in other words, to think more with System 2. This is where security nudges come into play. They direct the user behavior towards a certain decision whenever it is needed the most. This is exactly why they are highly likely to work in security-critical situations.
Types Of Nudging
Depending on human psychology, we can divide security nudges into the following four broad categories.
| Type of Nudge | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
Comparison Nudge | These nudges enable people to make decisions that align perfectly with their goals and interests. | It takes longer to retrieve your stolen credentials than to take Right-Hand’s training on Password Security. |
Emotional Nudge | This type of nudge triggers human emotions, thus making them more likely to act on a suggestion. | Thanks for reporting a malicious email! Keep up the good work! |
Social Nudge | Man is a social animal so he gets impacted by what other people are doing in his circle. Social nudges target this behavior. | Most of your colleagues have a cyber-defense score of 80%. Have you also reached that level? |
Risk-Based Nudge | Whenever reminded of a risk, humans are highly likely to avoid it. These types of nudges target this behavior. | You might end up clicking on a malicious link. Cross-check the URL first! |
How Do Security Nudges Apply To Human Risk Management?
At times, people are only aware of a certain behavior pattern that they have already been following for a long time. This pattern might not necessarily be the safest one. Therefore, it is always good to prompt them with useful security nudges to make them aware of more secure behavior patterns.
Whenever a user is likely to get into trouble, and you send a relevant security nudge at that very moment, this will prove to be a new addition to his learning experience. As a result, he can modify his behavior accordingly by realizing that the behavior pattern he has been following is not very secure. Therefore, nudges play an important role in Human Risk Management.
An Insight Into The Use Of Security Nudges To Deliver HRM Training Interventions At Right-Hand
If you are on the outlook for a platform for automated and behavior-based Human Risk Management training, then Right-Hand Cybersecurity is at your service. Our training platform allows your organization to deliver automated security and compliance training and reinforcement learning throughout the year to change behavior and reduce human risk more effectively.
At Right-Hand, we believe that true behavior change should lead to security alert reduction. With our HRM training interventions, we aim to offer security stack integrations, end-to-end automation and mitigate risky behaviors. Security nudges play a crucial role in this entire process.
What is Human Risk Management?
If you’re new to the concept, or already know and has questions on how to structure your program, this article is for you!
The Right-Hand Human Risk Management Process
At Right-Hand, we have a simple four-step process to implement Human Risk Management.
- Alert – An alert is generated by security tech integration based on risky user behavior.
- Security Nudge – The user receives training nudges in a variety of channels like Slack, MS Teams, email, etc.
- Granular Risk Scores – Based on the behavior and training performance on a variety of security nudges, risk scores are compiled.
- Insights – Reduction in SOC alerts, prioritization of workloads, and determination of behavior change priorities.
Security Tech Stack Integrations
Right-Hand’s HRM platform connects your security tech stack with automated training, enabling organizations to measure real-time human risk, empowering employees to anticipate threats, and relieving SOC teams from human-based alerts.
In a nutshell, we integrate our HRM platform with SIEM, SOAR, EDR, Email Security, and DLP solutions. This ensures that the employees of an organization get the learning they need right at the time when it is needed the most.
Why Are Real-Time Security Nudges Important?
Up till now, we have talked about the importance of security nudges in delivering Human Risk Management training. However, it is also essential to understand the significance of sending “real-time” security nudges.
Mostly, security alerts demand an immediate response from the user. Therefore, the user cannot rely on something that he has learned in the past or wait for the HRM platform to send a nudge at a later time. When we developed our HRM platform, we chose to have “in-the-moment” training to fill our knowledge gaps and effectively respond to security alerts.
Therefore, real-time security nudges are important since they are sent to you exactly when your team needs them so that they can make decisions most sensibly.
To understand how our team at Right-Hand can help you with HRM training interventions, book a personalized demo today!
