Apparently, we are getting in our own way when it comes to advancing cybersecurity. According to a leading 2018 study by the Ponemon Institute LLC (sponsored by IBM), the three primary causes of data breaches were malicious or criminal attack, system glitch and human error. While the study reports that the length of time to identify and contain, and the cost, were lower for data breaches caused by human error as opposed to the other categories, it is an issue that nearly 27 percent of data breaches are caused by human error.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” These sage words unfortunately describe the dilemma many companies are facing on a daily basis with increasing frequency. Whether because of a lack of resources to commit to cybersecurity or the C-suite’s reluctance to do things differently, companies are suffering from a rash of bad actors seeking to profit from cyberattacks and the loss of data because of negligent handling by insiders.