What can well-intentioned Swedes tell us about improving global cybersecurity? Quite a bit, probably, but specifically we should consider the recent award of the Nobel Prize in Economics to Richard Thaler, a professor at The University of Chicago. Thaler’s work in human behavior led to a bestseller titled “Nudge,” a book about helping people make better decisions. Among his findings was the reality that people didn’t voluntarily enroll in 401Ks until their employers made those decisions for them, essentially nudging the employees to be more proactive about the financial health. Once the companies made enrollment essentially mandatory, employees understood the benefit.

The crux of Thaler’s work, as described by the Nobel Committee and reported by the NY Times, is that people are predictably irrational. Their economic decisions don’t always correlate with their economic best interests. Some times they need a little nudge to see the importance of a particular path.

Consider This A Nudge

Cyberthreats abound. Stories fill the public consciousness about the dangers lurking in the ether. You’ve had a good run thus far, though, and your network and data enjoy a robust relationship with stakeholders and staff, due, in large part, to the vigilance of your IT support staff. Or luck. It could be dumb luck.

ICS works with talented IT staffers everyday, combing through the policies and protocols used successfully by their organizations for years. We don’t find vulnerabilities every time in every case, but we find them. People often feel like past performance is predictive of future results, so they don’t embrace new perspectives. That’s dangerous and not in your best interest.

So says ICS and a Nobel Laureate. Consider yourself nudged. Call today.