Can security's human side stop data breaches?

Shira Rubinoff was a practicing psychologist in 2004. When it came to technology, her experience was simply as a tech user, certainly not a tech guru. Then one day she was phished.

"After it happened, I was like: "There's got to be a better solution out there. Because once you put security in people's hands, so much can happen."

Rubinoff decided to take her background in human behavior and turn it into a security software firm that taps into how the mind works in order to prevent phishing attacks. Her New Jersey-based company, Green Armor, provides a product that uses a visual cue on the Web log-in page that is unique to each user of the site. The cue is generated using a mathematical formula based on the user id. It uses a colored box and a short word, a method she developed after extensive research and experimentation about how users memorize and retain information.

The idea, according to Rubinoff, is that users will know if something is amiss much easier than with the usual authentication techniques currently used by many online banking and other secure sites.

"This approach deals specifically with the humanistic factors of technology," said Rubinoff, who was recently named a "Women of Influence" award winner at the Executive Women's Forum because of her work on the software. "I think other technology out there look for technology problems. They forget there is a person sitting behind the computer that is very easily manipulated."

Human behavior is increasingly becoming a hot area of focus in security. In fact, a new study from networking giant Cisco says risky behavior tops the list of reasons for security breach. The study, which surveyed 1,000 employees and 1,000 IT professionals from various industries and company sizes in 10 countries, was conducted to examine security and data leakage at a time when employee lifestyles and work environments are changing dramatically.

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