Understanding Human Risk Index and Behavior Score

Introduction:

At Living Security, we're dedicated to providing you with the tools and insights needed to understand and mitigate human risk based on the security tools and solutions you already have in place. In this article, we'll break down the differences between our Human Risk Index (HRI) and the Behavior Score surfaced in Unify. Both are essential to comprehensive security management but serve different purposes.

What is the Human Risk Index (HRI)?

The Human Risk Index (HRI) is a probabilistic model that offers a nuanced view of a user, segment and organization's risk profile. It encompasses three key factors:

Risk = (Threat) x (Vulnerability) x (Impact)

1. External Threats: These include phishing attempts, malware, and other cyber threats targeting your organization.
2. Behaviors (vulnerability): This examines user actions, such as password hygiene, awareness training participation, and response to simulated attacks.
3. Impact: This evaluates the role and access permissions a user has to understand what is at stake if an incident were to occur.

By integrating these factors, HRI provides a comprehensive view of potential risks associated with each user, allowing organizations to prioritize interventions and mitigate threats effectively.

What is the Behavior Score?

While the HRI covers a broad spectrum of risk factors, the Behavior Score zeroes in on user behaviors. It assesses the actions individuals take within the organization's security landscape.

Key aspects of the Behavior Score include:

• Password Management: Frequency of password updates, complexity, and usage of multi-factor authentication.
• Training Participation: Engagement in security awareness training and completion rates.
• Incident Responses: How users respond to phishing simulations and other security drills.

It’s important to note that the Behavior Score is calculated independently from the HRI. It is based solely on the observed behaviors of an individual user, rather than being an input to the HRI.

The Behavior Score is designed to be easy to understand and actionable. Unlike the HRI, which is more suited for security professionals, the Behavior Score can be readily grasped by all employees, providing them with clear feedback on their security practices and encouraging positive changes.

Moreover, clients have the flexibility to customize their Behavior Score. This customization allows organizations to place more emphasis on specific areas or behaviors they are particularly interested in tracking and communicating to their users.

Comparing HRI and Behavior Score

See the Quick Guide to Customizing Your Behavior Score.

Why Both Scores Matter

The HRI and Behavior Score play crucial roles in maintaining a robust security posture:

• Human Risk Index (HRI): Helps organizations make informed, data-driven decisions about where to focus their security efforts. By considering a broad range of factors, HRI identifies users who might need more training or closer monitoring.
• Behavior Score: Empowers individual users by giving them clear, actionable insights into their security behavior. This score helps users understand the impact of their actions and motivates them to adopt safer practices. Additionally, the ability to customize the Behavior Score means organizations can tailor their focus to the most relevant behaviors for their specific security goals.

Together, these scores offer a 360-degree view of human risk, enabling organizations to address both broad strategic needs and day-to-day user behavior.

Conclusion

In summary, while the Human Risk Index (HRI) provides a deep dive into various risk factors and helps organizations at a strategic level, the Behavior Score simplifies security feedback for the everyday user. By leveraging both, organizations can foster a culture of security awareness and resilience.

Stay safe and keep informed!