Experts call for new security paradigm to address human factor

Thursday, March 30, 2023

On March 27, 2023, an online round table on “A new security paradigm for financial institutions” was held on the platform of the Information Security Institute under the patronage of the “European Academy of Sciences of Ukraine” (EUASU). The roundtable aimed to address the issue of the human factor in securing financial institutions.

For many years, security specialists believed that technology was the key to security, but recent actual security practices suggest that technological solutions alone are unable to secure financial structures. The consensus is the result of a series of reports initiated by government agencies, cybersecurity organizations, financial institutions, CISOs, and analytical and expert companies. The experts agree that without addressing the human factor, technological solutions are incapable of securing financial Institutions and the round table concluded that a new security paradigm must be developed to address this issue. The focus on minimizing human factors marks a significant step forward in the evolution of the security sector and financial institutions.

The round table included ten scientists from five countries, who agreed on the need to resolve the human factor problem. The experts included Professor Harvey Kushner, Dr. Oleg Maltsev, Massimo Ortolani, Olivier Paneke, Andrew Hoskins, Professor Vitaly Lunev, Konstantin Slobodyanyuk, Olga Panchenko, and Pavel Pedina.

During the round table the experts not only agreed on the need to resolve the human factor problem, but also described in detail the requirements for a program that must be developed in the coming months and begin to be implemented in business structures and organizations that are seriously affected by the human factor. Thus, during the round table there was not only a model of the future program, which was proposed by an expert in the field of security Oleg Maltsev, but also a list of practical requirements for the approach and selection of practical tools that must be applied in order to eliminate system errors at the stage of program development. In particular, Professor Harvey Kushner focused his colleagues’ attention on the rejection of mass-market tools. Oliver Paneke focused on human rights, which must also be taken into account at the design stage. By the way, Oliver Paneke stressed that such a program is critical not only for financial institutions, such as banks and insurance companies. According to the expert, the program should be extended to medical institutions, the energy sector and a number of other industries highly sensitive to the human factor. Professor Lunev emphasized the possible obstacles at the stage of implementation, which are rooted in the difference in psychological paradigms in the United States, Western Europe, and United Kingdom. Statistical information regarding the precedents related to the human factor was presented by Pavel Pedina. Olga Panchenko, in turn, highlighted the need to balance the interests of employees and employers, otherwise we risk facing two extremes – excessive attention to the rights of employees may result in a financial collapse, and vice versa – the maximum protection of employers’ rights may result in lawsuits and human rights conflicts.

The forthcoming program is expected to be of utmost importance, as no company or organization is currently able to eliminate security vulnerabilities stemming from the human factor. The roundtable marks a turning point in security thinking, as experts move towards practical solutions for addressing the human factor problem.

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