Security Nudge - Locking Computer Screens

I’ve written previously here about Thales Australia’s Internal Information Value campaign where we’ve been using ‘security nudges,’ to change people’s default  behaviours around data security.

One of the primary focus’ of the campaign has been ensuring that sensitive information is secured before people leave their desks unattended.

Often, people walk away from their computer without a second thought to the value of the information stored on their computer . Why is that? Well, it’s typically based on two factors:

• Firstly, and perhaps most commonly, people are reliant on the automatic lock screen that kicks in after a period of time of the computer being unattended.
• Secondly, often people believe that everyone they work with is of a good nature and wouldn’t want to access their computer if it was left unattended. While, for the most case this is probably true, it’s this trusting nature which can lead to information being accessed and then misused.
• Finally, there will be those who want to avoid locking their computer because they don’t want to have to enter their password credentials again to unlock their computer.

This is where the ‘security nudges’ come in. If our Thales Security Officers notice that a computer hasn’t been locked and is unattended, a screen lock reminder card is placed over their monitor or laptop

The placement of card is not intended to be a reprimand or to be a formal audit rather – it’s a reminder, or ‘nudge’ of what the expected behaviour is around securing your computer when you leave it unattended.

There is definitely less risk associated with leaving your computer unlocked at work however, as ‘work’ is now more flexible and mobile, and not confined to an office, we want to make sure these behaviour changes are implemented wherever you’re working from. .