The human element in cybersecurity is far more complex than any firewall or encryption method. Here’s why it keeps me up at night.
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I used to work in Internet Marketing, helping brands figure out what made people tick. I learned how consumer data was gathered like clockwork and how personalized ads slipped into your feed. The entire digital ecosystem seemed designed to make you feel special while pulling all your information into an invisible vortex. If you were one of those people who handed over your data for a discount, I probably helped you feel good about it. And I hated it.
I kept telling myself I was part of a digital revolution. And that it was all for the greater good. But when I watched The Social Dilemma, it hit me: I was helping big tech make billions off over-collected, poorly guarded data. There was no way I could ignore it anymore.
So, I made an abrupt left turn into cybersecurity. Suddenly, I was obsessed with the human element in cybersecurity. Because I found that the real risk isn’t in the algorithms—it’s in the people who trust them.
Read: Why the Future Needs More Women in Cybersecurity Now
In this article, you’ll see how the human element in cybersecurity is far more complex than any firewall or encryption method.
The Myth of the Secure System
We love to think we’re smart. We change our passwords every three months, enable two-factor authentication, and fret over every new malware making headlines. But all that tech might be a solid defense, but it’s not enough if we ignore the biggest vulnerability of all—ourselves.
For instance, stress can make us more likely to fall for phishing scams. Stress at work means you’re distracted, overwhelmed, and more likely to click a link you shouldn’t. Those little scam emails with urgent deadlines or mysterious “policy updates” prey on that stress, and when you’re already buried in tasks, that sense of panic makes it harder to spot the bait.
And then there’s overconfidence which can be just as deadly. People are good at convincing themselves they’re smarter than the average scammer. They think, “I’m too sharp to fall for this”—until they do. Because phishing emails aren’t just some Nigerian prince scam anymore. They’ve evolved to look like legitimate messages from companies we know.
The real risk has never been the machine. It’s always been us, the human element in cybersecurity.
The Weakest Link
The thing about Internet scams is that they’re always someone else’s mistake—until they’re not. It’s easy to laugh at the poor guy who wired his life savings to a “Nigerian prince,” but it’s not so funny when you’re the one clicking a fake PayPal link at 2 a.m., half-asleep. People don’t make bad choices because they’re stupid. They make them because they’re human.
The Sweetest Trick
You’re walking down the street, minding your business, when a stranger steps up and hands you a chocolate bar. No catch, no explanation, just a quiet expectation that you’ll take it. Before your brain catches up—before you can ask why—they lean in and say, “What’s your password?”
Absurd, right? Except nearly half of the people in a University of Luxembourg study handed theirs over. Not because they were careless. But because their brains told them to. It’s called reciprocity—the same instinct that makes you hold the door open for a stranger.
When someone does something nice for us—even something as trivial as giving us a chocolate bar—we feel an internal pressure to return the favor. This is how social engineering hackers are able to manipulate our psychological triggers to make us give up information without hesitation. So, while we’re busy securing our systems, a simple gift can undo it all.
Self-Control and Security Violations
Is every click a deliberate decision I make? Or is free will a lie?
The guy who clicks the phishing link isn’t always the disgruntled employee looking to burn the place down. There are days when exhaustion wins and self-control is just another thing he meant to hold on to but somehow slipped through his fingers. He’s not thinking about data breaches or security protocols—he’s thinking about getting through the day. One click and the company is bleeding information. It’s not malice. It’s impulse, which when mixed with weak passwords, is a recipe for disaster.
Hackers count on your curiosity, your fear, and your tendency to trust. If we want to keep our secrets safe, it’s not just firewalls we need. It’s understanding the human element of cybersecurity.
The Art of Social Engineering: Uncover the secrets behind the human dynamics in cybersecurity
Ever been guilt-tripped into a family reunion? That’s social engineering. Now imagine it’s a hacker phishing for your bank login. The Art of Social Engineering teaches you how not to fall for digital con artists.
Why is Cybersecurity So Complex?
Cybersecurity is a balance. Companies want security, but they also want speed. A doctor needs a patient’s history now, not after a six-step verification process. A researcher needs access to a database without begging IT for permission. Lock things down too much, and people prop the door open with a chair. Leave it wide open, and sooner or later, someone walks in who shouldn’t.
The U.S. Census Bureau collects data—mountains of it. Names, ages, incomes, the number of people under one roof. It’s meant for research, policy, the kind of decisions that shape lives. But stripping away names and Social Security numbers doesn’t mean the people disappear. A person’s identity can still be put together using other unique markers.
Some of the very details that make data valuable are also what make it dangerous if exposed. So how do we allow legitimate researchers to use this information without putting people’s privacy at risk?
My Fixation with the Human Element in Cybersecurity
A lot of my mom’s Facebook friends seem to exist just to fall for phishing scams. Every week, she shows me dubious messages, asking, “Is this legit?” The answer is always no. And clicking the link will not solve the problem—it is the problem.
This is why I don’t sleep well.
People like to believe cybersecurity is a technical problem—lines of code, firewalls, an arms race of encryption. But it isn’t. It’s human. It’s the way we’re wired. We click before we think. We trust what looks familiar. We assume the worst won’t happen to us, despite overwhelming evidence that it happens to everyone.
I don’t lose sleep over security because I have a thing for rules or get a thrill from typing in six-digit codes before checking my email. I lose sleep because people are predictable, and not in a comforting, storybook-ending kind of way. We are creatures of habit, wired for overconfidence, desperate to fit in, and too lazy to change our passwords. We click what we shouldn’t, trust what we shouldn’t, and then act surprised when it all goes to hell. The truth is, we’re the weakest link. And, as much as I hate to admit it, the only solution.
A password manager won’t save you from clicking the wrong link at the wrong time. It won’t stop you from falling for an AI impersonation scam. It won’t remind you that the biggest threat is the confidence that you would never fall for a scam. That’s why I keep coming back to the human element in cybersecurity, turning it over like a puzzle I can’t solve. Not yet.