Human firewalls: The first line of defense against cyber threats in 2025

Now that all the industry thought leaders have weighed in and published their predictions for what the cybersecurity landscape will look like in 2025, it seems that there’s a clear consensus emerging: Both attacks and defense of devices and networks will increasingly be AI-driven as time goes by.

But even as AI lends more attacking power to cyber criminals and cybersecurity professionals likewise incorporate AI into their threat-fighting arsenals, the single most powerful factor that can help fend off attacks is what was once the weakest link in security: human behavior.

What is a human firewall?

A human firewall is a collective effort of individuals within an organization that fights and wards off cybersecurity threats (such as phishing and ransomware), especially ones that use social engineering.

While a “firewall” is simply hardware or software that identifies and blocks malicious traffic based on rules, a human firewall is a more versatile, real-time, and intelligent version that learns, identifies, and responds to security threats in a trained manner. It also boasts a massive advantage over hardware and software firewalls: common sense.

According to cybersecurity firm Hoxhunt, human firewalls are based on the principle that every individual associated with an organization willingly plays a crucial and significant role in safeguarding that organization from cyber attacks.

Why do you need a human firewall?

Humans have traditionally been the weakest link in any tech setup or network. Over the years, we became increasingly vulnerable to sophisticated attacks that were perpetrated via multiple devices, apps, and channels. A report by Verizon found that 85% of all data breaches occur due to social engineering and system intrusions caused by basic human errors.

In the past few months, “infostealer” malware has gained ground. Infostealers attempt to log your activity across multiple networks (including social media) and steal username-password combinations and session information to access personally identifiable information (PII), as well as financial data. Both the software and its data are sold on the dark web in the form of Malware-as-a-Service (MaaS).

On the other hand, disinformation and misinformation arguably cause as much damage as malware today. Fake and deepfake content – in text, image, and audio/video formats – is used to target specific demographics, or even specific individuals, in order to manipulate them to take specific actions. In fact, a study by Check Point found that AI was extensively used by candidates, opponents, and foreign actors alike to manipulate at least a third of all elections across the world in 2023-24.

Also concerning is the rise of “hacktivist” groups that target vulnerable groups and networks on behalf of state actors to create ideological differences and public mistrust.

The only defense to all of this is to strengthen the proverbial weakest link – and make people “aware” of the myriad ways they can be targeted, influenced, and manipulated online. Humans have finally had enough – it’s time to prove to ourselves that we’re not always “vulnerable” to hacking, fraud, or theft via the devices and tech that are increasingly inseparable parts of our lives.

What do human firewalls bring to the company table?

As we saw above, reducing the propensity for human errors can bring down the possibility of intrusions and data breaches by as much as 85%.

Case in point, in 2020, Russian cybercriminals tried to bribe a Tesla employee with $1 million to install ransomware in the company’s systems. The employee recognized the threat, promptly reported it, and helped the FBI nab the criminals involved, potentially saving Tesla up to $4 million.

Such incidents clearly demonstrate five inherent benefits of having a strong human firewall:

• Heightened threat detection
• Better everyday adherence to security policies
• Less likelihood of external attacks
• An appropriate and adaptive path of response in case of an attack
• Much lower security costs and/or damages

How do you go about building a human firewall?

Not wanting to state or repeat the obvious here, but training is easily the single most significant factor in building an effective human firewall. The more training your organization imparts to your personnel, the more secure, alert, and prepared you’ll be to mitigate cybersecurity threats.

That said, you can’t build a human firewall with traditional training methods with realms of documentation that talk about “best practices” and “policies.” The training has to result in behavioral change and be habit-forming.

Fundamentally modifying employee mindset to expect threats at all times is key to mitigating breaches before or as soon as they happen. Practical training with gamification and simulation, and continuous, positive reinforcement of correct and timely actions will go a long way towards making your human firewall foolproof.

A successful, multilayered strategy gets employees to follow certain practices out of habit:

• Cultivate a zero-trust mindset toward organizational security. Provide granular security based on locations, devices, and user roles and ensure employees are fully on-board with role-based access.
• Make sure everyone is up-to-date on current and emerging threats such as business email compromise (BEC) and deepfake impersonation.
• Conduct routine and frequent security tests simulating phishing attacks and malicious links so that employees know what to avoid.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) should no longer be optional, especially as BYOD has become the norm.
• Allow quick and easy reporting of possible breaches or activity without fear of reprisal.
• Implement systems that can track changes in human behavior so that you can measure the effectiveness of your human firewall and continue to improve it over time.

A culture based on security

Security is no longer the responsibility or even purview of the IT department. It is the collective obligation of every committed employee of the company. Organizations that can turn their weakest link into a strong force that steps up and provides an additional layer of protection where technology and processes fail.

The value of a context-aware and vigilant workforce can’t be overstated. Human intelligence is the only mechanism that can evolve as fast as sophisticated cyber threats and social engineering attacks.

The human firewall represents a fundamental shift in cybersecurity thinking – from viewing employees as liabilities to recognizing them as essential security assets. Full involvement from top leadership, clear and superfast communication channels, and user-friendly security tools will help you build an impenetrable human firewall.