Dive Brief:
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New research by CloudLock found that 1% of employees are responsible for 75% of cloud-related enterprise security risk.
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These users engage in behaviors such as sending out plain-text passwords, sharing files, reusing passwords, accidentally downloading malware, using risky applications and clicking on phishing links.
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The report noted that risk-prone users include both rank-and-file employees as well as highly privileged users.
Dive Insight:
The study also found the top 1% of users are responsible for 81% of shared files and 62% of installed apps.
"Cybercriminals try to find the weakest link, the easiest point of access," said Ayse Kaya Firat, CloudLock's director of customer insights and analytics. "The user might not have any malicious intent. They might just want to listen to some music or play a game, but they're opening up the gateway for cybercriminals."
The good news: Companies can reduce their exposure by paying extra attention to risk-prone users.
"By focusing on the right people, you can do a ton with minimum effort,” Firat said.
