After two decades of maturing technical defenses, organizations are confronting a difficult reality: even the strongest tools cannot fully protect them if human behavior is left unaddressed. As technology has advanced, attackers have adapted, shifting focus from purely exploiting infrastructure to targeting people directly. In many breaches, the entry point is not a software flaw but a human one.
For five years in a row, Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report has found that the majority of breaches involve a human element. In 2024, nearly 60% of global breaches were traced back to actions or decisions made by individuals. Yet employees are not the problem. Most failures stem from environments where security is unnecessarily complex, communicated in technical jargon, or treated as a barrier to productivity.
What Defines Security Culture
Every organization has a security culture, whether intentional or not. The question is whether it supports secure behavior.
Security culture refers to the shared beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes about cybersecurity across a workforce. When employees believe security is important, understand their role in it, and see themselves as targets, they are more likely to act securely. When they see it as someone else’s responsibility, or as an obstacle, risk rises quickly.
Behavior follows environment. If policies, tools, and leadership make security difficult, employees will find workarounds. If those same systems simplify security, people are more likely to make safe choices as part of their daily routines.
Four Levers That Shape Security Culture
- Leadership signals – Executives set the tone. If they visibly prioritize security with funding, accountability, and organizational support for the CISO, the message is clear.
- Security team engagement – The way employees experience security day to day matters. Supportive and approachable teams build trust. Teams that are rigid or unhelpful erode it.
- Policy design – Policies that are overly technical or inconvenient push employees toward insecure shortcuts. Simple, practical rules reinforce the idea that security is achievable.
- Security training – Training should be engaging, role-specific, and relevant. When it feels outdated or disconnected, it signals that security is just a checkbox.
Aligning Culture Across the Organization
Leadership may set direction, but employees measure culture by what they experience daily. If executives talk about security as a priority but policies are impractical, teams are unapproachable, or training is irrelevant, trust breaks down.
Aligning leadership, policies, team engagement, and training creates the conditions where security becomes part of normal operations. When employees see that security is supported, achievable, and integrated into their roles, the human risks that attackers exploit are significantly reduced.
How Can Netizen Help?
Founded in 2013, Netizen is an award-winning technology firm that develops and leverages cutting-edge solutions to create a more secure, integrated, and automated digital environment for government, defense, and commercial clients worldwide. Our innovative solutions transform complex cybersecurity and technology challenges into strategic advantages by delivering mission-critical capabilities that safeguard and optimize clients’ digital infrastructure. One example of this is our popular “CISO-as-a-Service” offering that enables organizations of any size to access executive level cybersecurity expertise at a fraction of the cost of hiring internally.
Netizen also operates a state-of-the-art 24x7x365 Security Operations Center (SOC) that delivers comprehensive cybersecurity monitoring solutions for defense, government, and commercial clients. Our service portfolio includes cybersecurity assessments and advisory, hosted SIEM and EDR/XDR solutions, software assurance, penetration testing, cybersecurity engineering, and compliance audit support. We specialize in serving organizations that operate within some of the world’s most highly sensitive and tightly regulated environments where unwavering security, strict compliance, technical excellence, and operational maturity are non-negotiable requirements. Our proven track record in these domains positions us as the premier trusted partner for organizations where technology reliability and security cannot be compromised.
Netizen holds ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 20000-1, and CMMI Level III SVC registrations demonstrating the maturity of our operations. We are a proud Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) certified by U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that has been named multiple times to the Inc. 5000 and Vet 100 lists of the most successful and fastest-growing private companies in the nation. Netizen has also been named a national “Best Workplace” by Inc. Magazine, a multiple awardee of the U.S. Department of Labor HIRE Vets Platinum Medallion for veteran hiring and retention, the Lehigh Valley Business of the Year and Veteran-Owned Business of the Year, and the recipient of dozens of other awards and accolades for innovation, community support, working environment, and growth.
Looking for expert guidance to secure, automate, and streamline your IT infrastructure and operations? Start the conversation today.
