One in 5 Pakistani employees make IT mistakes due to lack of cybersecurity knowledge: survey

A recent study titled "Cybersecurity in the workplace: Employee knowledge and behavior" surveyed employees in the Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa (META) region, including Pakistan. The study found that 18.5% of Pakistani employees made IT-related mistakes due to a lack of cybersecurity knowledge. Other factors contributing to mistakes included being in a hurry (20.5%), oversight (15%), being tired or stressed (16%), and too many notifications (16%).

The constant influx of alerts, messages, and visual clutter is creating a significant issue that can lead to costly IT errors, missed social engineering attacks, and even cyber breaches. Conducted by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, the survey also explored employees' digital workspace habits. Around 37% of respondents had between 10 and 20 icons on their desktop, while 36.5% admitted to having more.

Additionally, 30% of respondents kept over 10 tabs open in their browser simultaneously. While many employees regularly sanitize their keyboards and phone surfaces (10% adopted this habit following the COVID-19 pandemic), digital cleanliness lags behind: 58.5% of respondents clean up unnecessary files monthly or more frequently, while the rest do so less often - once a quarter or even once a year.

The survey noted that breaks are crucial for both well-being and cyber vigilance, but 71% of respondents spend their breaks eating or drinking, and 44% engage in socializing. Stretching and physical exercise are more effective ways to alleviate stress and regain focus, habits followed by only 13.5% of employees. Brandon Muller, a senior security consultant for the META region at Kaspersky, emphasized the importance of acknowledging digital fatigue, stating that the constant stream of notifications, cluttered screens, and information overload gradually diminish focus and make employees more prone to mistakes and social engineering attacks.

To enhance digital hygiene, experts recommend decluttering desktops by removing unnecessary icons and files or organizing them into logical folders, managing browser tabs by bookmarking necessary pages and closing the rest, uninstalling unused applications, managing notifications, and limiting essential alerts to those needed during focused work on critical projects.