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

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.