Study finds Gen Z most apathetic about cybersecurity at work

So, why are younger people less bothered about protecting themselves on the internet?

Most Gen Zers are completely fluent with digital spaces, so much so that their identity is equally balanced between real life interaction and online platforms. Given that most have seen cyber breaches and privacy incidents from a very young age, they likely recognise the risks and feel adequately equipped to avoid them, even if this may not be the case.

In fact, security emergencies are on the rise. Thanks to a changed work place environment that is balanced between working from home and the office, data is now shared across many more devices, servers, and networks.

US cyber incidents led to $7 billion USD in potential losses in 2021, according to the FBI, putting many valuable company assets at risk. While not a national security threat, one of the most headline-grabbing incidents recently was Rockstar’s GTA 6 leaks, where tons of developer video and images were released to the public via a Slack account breach.

High-profile examples such as this highlight how security mistakes can happen to any company, regardless of size or profit.

What should happen moving forward?

EY recommends role and risk-based education to improve company practices. It says that workers who undertook training in the past year were ‘significantly more likely to implement cyber-safe practices at work’, compared to those without any such teaching.

EY also notes that teaching employees about cybersecurity should be ‘personal’, with a focus on living day-to-day digitally in a safe manner both at home and the office. It’s not simply a technical, human resource issue, or a mandatory box-ticking exercise.

Instead, lessons on cybersecurity should be tailored toward Gen Zers who’ve become disillusioned with the consequences of internet use. Crucially, employers should interrupt human behaviours that are a potential risk, as this is where harm is most likely to stem from.

EY says that companies should ‘understand employees workflows, identify the moments of highest human risk.’ This can be realised with screen takeovers, or a simple discussion with workers about their routines and most visited websites.

Either way, the security risk will continue to grow as younger people become larger influences in big business. Bosses will need to adapt to ensure they don’t end up leaking all their content to the internet accidentally, or losing personal data in a breach. That’s not fun for anyone, right?