Cybersecurity readiness starts within your organization. The employees who use your digital systems and tools every day can either be your strongest defense or your greatest vulnerability. According to Mimecast, human error contributes to 95% of breaches.
Even with advancements like artificial intelligence, technology alone cannot stop every attack. Bad actors are leveraging AI to strengthen their own tactics, making it essential to view your employees as primary partners in cyber defense.
Leadership and governance
While employees form the frontline, executives and boards set the tone. Governance frameworks that align IT, compliance, and business units foster accountability and reduce fragmentation. This alignment not only strengthens defenses but also shapes how insurers view your organization. Demonstrating governance maturity and risk controls can improve insurability, broaden coverage options, and strengthen claims outcomes.
Regulatory exposure is another key driver. Managing sensitive data brings compliance obligations under laws like Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), GDPR, and emerging state privacy statutes.
Mishandling this information, even unintentionally, can trigger costly investigations and class-action lawsuits. Strong governance must therefore extend beyond technical controls to include privacy-by-design practices, data minimization, and legal oversight across the entire data lifecycle.
Data privacy filings by year
Image source: Duane Morris
Employees as the first line of defense
Equipping employees with comprehensive, routine training helps them recognize and respond to suspicious activity. Best practices include:
- Clear IT and security policies
- Lessons about password hygiene and MFA
- Simulated phishing campaigns
- Defined reporting protocols
Relying on annual compliance modules leaves organizations exposed. By contrast, interactive microlearning and real-world simulations can help improve retention and accountability, embedding readiness into everyday behavior.
Minimize human error
Cybercriminals often exploit lapses in judgment: a missed patch, a misclassified file, a mistaken approval. Awareness and education are critical, yet many awareness programs miss the mark because:
- Training content becomes outdated as threats evolve
- Administering programs places heavy burdens on security teams
- Employees deprioritize training due to poor design or competing tasks
- Infrequent touchpoints lead to forgetfulness
Effective programs overcome these hurdles by offering frequent, accessible training that evolves alongside the threat landscape.
Security professionals believe there is a high level of risk of mistakes in these areas:
Image source: Mimecast
Best practices for internal readiness
Employees empowered through training and escalation protocols can stop incidents before they spread.
Key practices include:
- Strengthening governance and reporting
- Prioritizing regulatory compliance in data practices
- Keeping policies current and enforcing responsibilities
- Strengthening data governance and classification
- Implementing and maintaining strong cybersecurity controls
- Delivering continuous, practical training
- Building third-party risk awareness
- Preparing for incident response
- Testing and securing backups
- Tracking metrics and addressing new exposures
- Reviewing insurance policies regularly
The role of trusted partners
Trusted partners simplify cyber readiness by extending the capacity of internal teams and making best practices achievable:
- Insurance advisor – Translates insurer expectations into practical steps, connects you with resources, and communicates improvements to insurers for potentially more favorable terms.
- Insurance company partner – Provides access to training tools, vendor networks, and resources that help strengthen employee readiness before an incident occurs.
- Incident response – Validates escalation protocols, runs tabletop exercises, and responds quickly during an incident to contain threats and reduce impact.
Together, these partnerships transform readiness from a fragmented effort into a structured plan that strengthens prevention, improves insurability, and helps ensure a rapid, credible response when it matters most.
Your next step toward cyber resilience
Employees and governance are the foundation of cyber resilience, but even strong teams need structure and support to stay prepared. That’s why The Baldwin Group’s cyber team provides practical tools and expert guidance to help organizations turn best practices into everyday readiness.
Download our internal readiness checklist to benchmark your current practices and identify gaps.
This document is intended for general information purposes only and should not be construed as advice or opinions on any specific facts or circumstances. The content of this document is made available on an “as is” basis, without warranty of any kind. The Baldwin Insurance Group Holdings, LLC (“The Baldwin Group”), its affiliates, and subsidiaries do not guarantee that this information is, or can be relied on for, compliance with any law or regulation, assurance against preventable losses, or freedom from legal liability. This publication is not intended to be legal, underwriting, or any other type of professional advice. The Baldwin Group does not guarantee any particular outcome and makes no commitment to update any information herein or remove any items that are no longer accurate or complete. Furthermore, The Baldwin Group does not assume any liability to any person or organization for loss or damage caused by or resulting from any reliance placed on that content. Persons requiring advice should always consult an independent adviser.
